New Delhi: England included pacer Olly Stone as replacement for injured Mark Wood in their squad for the second Test against Sri Lanka that starts on Thursday at the Lord’s cricket ground.
Stone is the only change in the England side the won the first Test by five wickets in Manchester last week to go 1-0 up in the three match series.
Stone will make his first appearance in Test cricket since June 2021 with England naming their team for the match on Tuesday.
Door not closed on Bairstow
Jonny Bairstow’s white-ball career isn’t over insisted England chief selector Luke Wright after he was not included in the squad for their forthcoming series against Australia.
The 34-year-old along with his long time team-mates Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan were omitted from the squad for three T20s and five ODIs as England called up five uncapped players for the series that stretches from September 11 and 29.
Bairstow was a key player in England’s ODI World Cup win in 2019 but has struggled for form after breaking his leg two years ago.
“One of Jonny’s great strengths is how much he wants to play,” Wright said, as quoted by AFP.
“We just want him back to being one of the best players in the world. He had that horrific injury, and that’s been the message. Can we get you back to where you were pre-injury?
“He understands that. He doesn’t like it. One thing Jonny will do is fight back, and I hope he does and gets himself back in the team.”
England sacked white-ball coach Matthew Mott after early exits from ODI and T20 World Cups, replacing him with Marcus Trescothick, who assumed the role on an interim basis.
Wright said the time is right to blood in left-arm pacer Josh Hull, all-rounder Jacob Bethell, Dan Mousley Jordan Cox and seamer John Turnercome into the mix.
“It’s certainly not an experiment. These guys are top cricketers. The one thing we don’t lack in England is the amount of talent that’s around,” he said.
“With the schedule, it gives us the opportunity to look at some wider squads, and gives us the opportunity to look at some of those younger lads who sometimes wouldn’t get that opportunity.”
The England team:
Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Olly Stone, Shoaib Bashir.
Olly Stone is the only change in the England side the won the first Test by five wickets in Manchester last week to go 1-0 up in the three match series against Sri Lanka. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
