ECB name England squad for first Test against India

Image Courtesy: Twitter/@englandcricket

The England and Wales Cricket Board announced a 13-man England team for the first Test against India on Thursday. Joe Root, who was the man of the series in the recently concluded ODIs, leads the English side. 

Pacer Jamie Porter, off-spinner Moeen Ali and leg-break bowler Adil Rashid replace Chris Woakes, Dominic Bess and Mark Wood in the squad. Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Stuart Broad and  James Anderson retain their spots. 

Adil Rashid returns to red-ball cricket after two years. He last played a Test match in 2016 against India at Chennai. Moeen Ali, who was dropped in the Test series against Pakistan, will lead the spin attack against India.

Ali played a key role in the 3-1 win in 2014. The off-spinner took 19 wickets in the five-match Test series against India, who are renowned for playing spin. 

Jamie Porter earned a place in English Test squad for the first time. The 25-year-old, who played a vital role in  Essex’s championship win in 2017, has taken 240 wickets in 61 first-class matches. 

England first Test squad: Joe Root (c), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid, Sam Curran, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Jamie Porter.  

England lost the T20I series 2-1, won the ODI 2-1 and meet India in a 5-match Test series starting from August 1 at Birmingham.