Cricket

'Iss baar bazball chalega' - Fans react as England plan trio of changes for Test 3 of Ashes 2023

England are planning to make three changes before facing the Aussies in Test 3 of Ashes 2023. Here's how fans reacted.

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England plans changes for Ashes 2023

England plans changes for Ashes 2023 (Source: Twitter)

Australia are running away with Ashes 2023, they have now won the first two Test and need just one single win to attain unassailable status. The scanner has been on England, led by Ben Stokes and coached by the iconic Brendon McCullum who has implemented the aggressive strategy for the longest format of the game, popularly dubbed as ‘Bazball’. England lost the first Test by two wickets after the final day of intense hard work. In contrast, the second Test was a much more regular affair.

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However, the inability of the Bazball approach to produce results against Australia has been highlighted. That is why England are planning a trio of changes ahead of Test 3 at Headingley. Reportedly, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, and Moeen Ali will replace Ollie Pope, Josh Tongue, and Jimmy Anderson for the 3rd Ashes Test.

Despite missing the Lord's Test due to a cut on the knuckle of his spinning finger, Moeen has been given the all-clear to continue his return to the format. After retiring following the conclusion of the India series in 2021, he made his first appearance in the opening Test at Edgbaston. He is now back in the game and needs two more wickets to get 200 in Tests.

Harry Brook will reportedly move to the number 3 position

For the third Ashes Test against Australia at Headingley, England is debating moving teenage batsman Harry Brook up the order to number three, according to Tuesday's Sky Sports report. Due to a shoulder dislocation, he sustained during the second Test at Lord's, which England lost by 43 runs and trailed by 2-0 in the five-match series, Ollie Pope, England's number three and vice-captain, is out of the Ashes series. With one half-century, Brook has 132 runs in four innings over two Test matches, scoring at a 32.00 average.

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Here’s how England’s Playing XI will look like - 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Harry Brook, 4 Joe Root, 5 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Ollie Robinson, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 Mark Wood

Here’s how fans reacted:

Ashes 2023 Australia England featured Twitter Reactions