ASHES 2023

'Aa gye England ki ijjat bachane' - Fans react as England make significant changes to playing XI for crucial Headingley Test in Ashes 2023

England announced their starting XI for the crucial Headingley Test in the Ashes 2023 on Wednesday, July 5.

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Akshay
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England (Source: Twitter)

England England (Source: Twitter)

England have announced their playing XI for the third and crucial Ashes Test, which starts on Thursday (July 6) at Headingley in Leeds. The hosts have made three changes, including dropping their veteran bowler James Anderson following his poor performance at Lord's in a 43-run defeat.

When England vice-captain Ollie Pope was ruled out due to a shoulder injury, they retained Ollie Robinson and replaced Josh Tongue, who had performed well in the second Test. Anderson, Pope and Tongue will make way for Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood in the must-win game.

Australia have taken a 2-0 lead, and a draw or win in Leeds would see them retain the Ashes. However, England seem to be sticking to their 'baseball' approach even though it has not delivered them the desired results so far in the series. The Three Lions have not named a replacement for Pope, but it is expected that Harry Brook will be promoted to the No. 3 spot.

With the addition of all-rounders Moeen and Woakes, they have strengthened their batting department. Moeen played the opening Test at Edgbaston and took three wickets, but was forced to miss the second match due to a finger injury. Woakes returns to the side after a year, and Wood hasn't played a Test since his impressive performance in England's 3-0 triumph over Pakistan last winter.

We're thinking about winning the series 3-2: Ben Stokes 

Jonny Bairstow's controversial dismissal in England's second innings at Lord's added to the excitement of the Ashes series. England will be looking to respond to the visitors with a massive comeback in the Headingley Test. Ahead of the crucial match, England captain Ben Stokes said they are aiming to win the remaining three matches.

"All we're thinking about is winning the series 3-2. It's very exciting to know that the way in which we are playing our cricket actually couldn't be more perfect for the situation we find ourselves in - we have to win these three games to get this urn back," the all-rounder said.

England's playing XI for the third Ashes Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow(wk), Ben Stokes (c), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad.

Here's how fans reacted to England's playing XI for the third Ashes Test: 

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