ENG vs IND 2025: England announce their playing XI for Lord's Test, Surprising changes

Jofra Archer will return to Test cricket at Lord’s on July 10 after a gap of four-and-half years. Various injuries kept him outside the game before he was restricted only to the red-ball format, before returning to first-class cricket for Sussex where he bowled 18 overs. It will be his first home Test since 2020.

Archer’s return means Josh Tongue will warm the benches as England decided to retain the same bowling line-up apart from that. Both Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes will be tired after their long bowling in the first couple of Tests at Leeds and Edgbaston. The series is currently leveled at 1-1 with Shubman Gill’s side earning a 430-run victory three days ago. 

SEE ALSO: Watch: KKR pacer clicks 150+ in comeback game

Gus Atkinson hasn’t been declared fit for the contest after he sustained a hamstring strain in May against Zimbabwe. Archer has taken 42 scalps so far at a Test average of 31.04 between 2019 and 2021, including 20 at 20.27 during his debut series in the Ashes 2019.

England announce their playing XI for Lord’s Test as Jofra Archer returns

Despite successive poor performances, the home side continues to show their trust on the opening batter, Zak Crawley, who averages the lowest among all the openers with the same amount of runs. The pressure is equally on Ollie Pope, despite his century a couple of weeks ago. He is yet to celebrate more than one century in an red-ball series in his career.

Mark Wood trained with England at Lord’s on the morning of July 09 as he targets to return for the fifth Oval Test. The management now remains optimistic of having a strong core of the pace battery for the upcoming away Ashes 2025-26 in the winter.

Brendon McCullum requested a spicy and green surface at Lord’s for the second game to the MCC grounds men. On that surface, it should be comfortable for the bowlers than the first two fixtures. They had the chance to pick Sam Cook to rest one of Woakes and Carse, but they went with the experience looking at the scoreline.

England’s confirmed playing XI for Lord’s Test vs India

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir.