Just In: England's Squad For 4th Test Announced; Jos Buttler Misses Out
England have announced their squad for the fourth Test against India at The Oval. All-rounder Chris Woakes earned a recall to the side after recovering from his heel injury.
Jos Buttler, who is awaiting the birth of his second child, will miss the match which begins on September 2. In his place, Jonny Bairstow is set to don the gloves for the fourth Test.
“We would like to wish Jos and his family all the very best for the impending birth of their second child. Unfortunately, he will miss this Test, and we’ll then see if he returns for the final Test at Emirates Old Trafford.”
“Jonny Bairstow will take over wicketkeeping duties, which he is relishing. As we all know, he has the skills to seamlessly take over from Jos and the ability to score crucial runs in the middle-order if called upon,” England’s head coach Chris Silverwood said.
Meanwhile, white-ball regular, Sam Billings, who last played for England in a T20I series against Pakistan a couple of months ago, has been included as a backup wicket-keeping option. Billings is quite popular among the English players and will be a good addition even if he doesn’t get to play, as per Silverwood.
Sam Billings [Image-Getty]
“Sam Billings, who was in the Test squad for the New Zealand series earlier this summer, returns as reserve keeper. He understands how we want to approach our cricket and is a popular member of the group. He will fit in well with the rest of the group,” the coach continued.
Woakes, who last played a Test in 2020, recovered from his broken heel after falling down the stairs. Silverwood called Woakes an ‘asset’ and was extremely pleased with the return of one of England’s best bowling all-rounders.
“It is very pleasing that we have Chris Woakes returning to the Test squad. He has bowled well over the past week with Warwickshire without any real concerns with his heel injury.”
“He is an asset we have been missing both with the ball and his ability to score runs in the middle order. We are looking forward to seeing him prepare at the Oval as we go into back-to-back Tests,” Silverwood said.
Mark Wood also makes a return after sustaining a jarred shoulder in the second Test at Lord’s. His shoulder was seen to be heavily strapped but to the fans’ relief, Silverwood revealed that he made rapid progress and will be available for the Oval Test.
Mark Wood (Image Credit: Twitter)
“Mark Wood is making excellent recovery from his jarred right shoulder. He bowled in the middle on the last day at Headingley with our bowling coach Jon Lewis and was starting to get through his spells pain-free. For the first time in this series, it is pleasing to have several options with our bowling stocks as we approach the latter stages of the series,” he added.
The series is currently level at 1-1, with England having made a telling statement at Headingley with a crushing innings and 76-run victory over the visitors on Friday. Silverwood mentioned that the series is perfectly poised for either of the teams to snatch it.
“After the victory at Emerald Headingley, the Test series is beautifully poised against a strong India side going into the next Test at the Kia Oval,” he added.
England squad for the 4th Test against India
Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow (wk), Sam Billings, Rory Burns, Sam Curran, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
