England Cricket have revealed 13-member squad for the second test of India tour of England 2018 schedules to play from 9 August at The Lord’s in London. ECB selectors dropped Dawid Malan who was outclass in the Edgbaston test. He failed to score runs meanwhile had poor performance in the fielding. Uncapped Ollie Pope to replace Malan in England roster.
England & Wales Cricket Board selector Ed Smith praised Pope’s performance in the domestic season and emphasized his selection to the national side for big game against Men in Blue.
He said, “Ollie Pope has made an exceptional start to his first class career. He has reached a 1,000 first class runs in just 15 matches and is the first division’s stand-out batsman this season with 684 runs at 85. The selection panel believe that Ollie’s performances and character suggest he is well suited to international cricket.”
Star all-rounder Ben Stokes will also be missing the 2nd test match against India as he’ll be facing court hearing in Bristol in the upcoming week. Hence he won’t be available for the selection. Stokes played crucial role in England’s victory as he took 4 wickets in the second innings of Birmingham test including inform Indian skipper Kohli’s wicket. Chris Woakes will be replacing Stokes in the England side.
“Ben Stokes is unavailable, but Chris Woakes, with some extra matches and practices under his belt, can now return to the England squad after injury,” Smith added.
England defeated India in the first test of series by 31 runs in an exciting thriller.
England’s 2nd test squad:
Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, Alastair Cook, James Anderson, Chris Woakes, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Sam Curran, Jamie Porter, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad.
Will this England team beat India in the second test of series at Lord’s?
