- Jofra Archer is set to return to return for his first Test in four and a half years
- England’s bowlers have struggled miserably in their series against India
- After Saturday, India have now racked up over 1,800 runs in the series so far
England will consider changing their entire seam attack for next week’s third Test at Lord’s after another punishing day at the hands of India‘s batsmen in Birmingham.
Jofra Archer is set to return for his first Test in four and a half years, while Gus Atkinson has recovered from a hamstring strain and is in line to be Archer’s new-ball partner at a venue where he took 12 wickets on debut last summer against West Indies.
The third tweak would involve bringing in either Jamie Overton, who broke his finger during the recent one-day series against West Indies but is available to play today for Surrey in the T20 Blast, or Essex’s Sam Cook, who looked unconvincing against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge in May. Both players have won only one Test cap.
With India’s captain Shubman Gill adding a run-a-ball 161 at Edgbaston on Saturday to his first-innings 269, and Rishabh Pant thrashing a quick 65 after being badly dropped by Zak Crawley on 10, the tourists have now racked up 1,849 runs in two Tests.
England looked bedraggled when the declaration eventually came at 427 for six, with India’s ledger for the game showing 1,014 runs for the loss of only 16 wickets. Set an improbable 608 to go 2–0 up, they closed on 72 for three.
The two seamers most in need of a rest are Brydon Carse, who has suffered with blisters in this game and bowled with little luck for match figures of two for 139, and Josh Tongue, who is the leading wicket-taker in the series on either side, with 11, but has gone at more than 4.5 an over, and has often been used by Stokes as the team’s battering ram.
Jofra Archer is set to return and play in his first Test for England in four and a half years
Archer’s return follows another punishing day for England at the hands of India’s batsmen
India declared at 427–6, setting England a whopping target of 608 from around 108 overs
But the 36-year-old Chris Woakes, who has an excellent record at Lord’s, looked as tired as anyone on a punishing fourth day, having made poor use of the new ball on the third evening. His three wickets in this series have cost 96 each.
England’s exhaustion levels have not been helped by a sluggish Edgbaston pitch which has frustrated their pre-match hopes of pace and bounce, though an Indian victory today may be regarded by Warwickshire as vindication of what they have served up.
Club officials argue that head groundsman Gary Barwell ensured the pitch started with the same moisture content as the surface here for India’s last visit, in 2022 – as per England’s request. But Stokes’s team have rarely looked so unthreatening with the ball as they have in this game, confirming the need to refresh the attack for Lord’s.
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Jofra Archer in line for Test return with England set to shake up seam attack at Lord’s for third Test after India’s batters run rampant at Edgbaston