England have confirmed their playing XI for the second Test against India at Edgbaston, Birmingham, with Jofra Archer still on the sidelines. The hosts will go with an unchanged line-up led by captain Ben Stokes and the pace trio of Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue being retained. As per reports, Archer wasn't in Birmingham, two days out from the Test match and had returned home to attend to a family emergency.
Woakes' was probably the only place in question, but being the senior pro after James Anderson and Stuart Broad's departure from international cricket, the team management has put faith in the 36-year-old. Woakes, admittedly, is very close to getting to his best and mentioned that he was relieved that he got through the Headingley Test unscathed as far as his body was concerned, returning from an injury.
Carse was impressive in the second innings while Josh Tongue seemed to be getting the hang of clipping away the tail of the opposition, which he did expertly in both innings. Shoaib Bashir got a couple of wickets, but England will hope for a much better performance at Edgbaston from the rookie spinner.
The vice-captain Ollie Pope, with consecutive hundreds, has thrown all the talks about his place on the back burner and is likely to get through the whole series, unless any injuries. After a smart and calculated chase of 371 in the series opener in Leeds, the hosts will be keen to double their lead as India arrive at Edgbaston with several questions over their playing combination, especially with uncertainty over Jasprit Bumrah's availability. The second Test kicks off on Wednesday, July 2.
England playing XI for 2nd Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (C), Jamie Smith (WK), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
