Former England skipper Michael Vaughan named his preferred England playing XI for the second Ashes Test match against Australia and he believes that they should make multiple changes. Jack Leach is expected to replace Moeen Ali while Jofra Archer will most likely make his debut in place of the injured James Anderson. Vaughan suggested that England should include young all-rounder Sam Curran in place of Joe Denly and Ben Stokes should bat at No. 4 for the hosts in order to straighten their batting order.
“Sam Curran has to come in for Joe Denly. He offers another bowling option and England need as many choices as possible in a series like this because Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes have already bowled a lot of overs this summer. By adding Curran it will lessen their workload and I think he offers as many runs with the bat in two innings as Denly. Woakes has to play. He is like the joker at Lord’s. He always does well there,” Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph.
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Australia won the first Ashes test by a huge margin of 251 runs on Monday after dismissing England for 146 in its second innings on the final day.
Offspinner Nathan Lyon was often unplayable with 6-49 and passed 350 test wickets in a remarkable turnaround for the Australians, who had been reduced to 122-8 in their first innings at a hostile Edgbaston.
{{/usCountry}}Offspinner Nathan Lyon was often unplayable with 6-49 and passed 350 test wickets in a remarkable turnaround for the Australians, who had been reduced to 122-8 in their first innings at a hostile Edgbaston.
{{/usCountry}}Allrounder Chris Woakes provided England’s top score with a defiant 37 at No. 9 after the hosts crumbled from 60-1 to 97-7. Woakes was the last man out in the 53rd over to Pat Cummins (4-32), sending the ball to Steve Smith in the slips as England collapsed in the afternoon.
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“It is about the whole package. You are picking a cricketer at Lord’s who could have a say across four innings. I would back Curran to produce something in those four innings. Denly is easy on the eye. He is a decent player but at 33 is he the right style of player we need to get this Test match team back on track?” Vaughan wrote.
Michael Vaughan’s playing XI: Rory Burns, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Jason Archer, Stuart Broad, Jack Leach.
(With agency inputs)