Tongue handed shock England debut as Woakes omitted for Ireland Test
W
orcestershire seamer Josh Tongue will make a shock England debut towards Ireland this week, with Chris Woakes unnoticed of the primary Test of the summer season.
Tongue was not named within the preliminary 15-man squad for the sport however was called up as cover last week following minor accidents to James Anderson and Ollie Robinson.
With that pair missing and England reluctant to danger Mark Wood forward of the Ashes, it had been anticipated that Woakes would make his first look of the ‘Bazball’ period alongside Stuart Broad and Matthew Potts.
However, Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have as a substitute determined at hand the uncapped Tongue a chance to impress, that means Woakes – who carried out media duties to preview the sport on Tuesday – will proceed to attend for a primary Test outing since final spring’s tour of the West Indies.
“He’s a big, strong lad that’s for sure,” McCullum mentioned of Tongue earlier this week. “He looks like he bowls quite fast and has some real skills. He is obviously a bit of a rough diamond.
“We think he has something really exciting and hence we brought him into the squad.”
Wood is match and has educated with the remainder of the squad at Lord’s this week, however England have determined towards wheeling him out towards Ireland in an try to handle his workload forward of the Ashes, which begin at Edgbaston on June 16.
England had hoped to have a battery of real specific tempo choices to rotate towards Australia, however a season-ending stress fracture for Jofra Archer and a hamstring damage that guidelines Olly Stone out of at the very least the primary a part of the sequence means Wood now stands alone.
Stokes is himself included within the facet regardless of lingering uncertainty over his health to bowl, although the truth that England have left the steadiness of their staff unchanged suggests the captain is assured both in his means to play a job with the ball, or else blissful to enter the sport with solely three front-line seam choices, alongside spinner Jack Leach.
England’s batting lineup kind of picks itself after the choice to depart Ben Foakes out of the preliminary squad following Jonny Bairstow’s return to health, with spare batter Dan Lawrence the participant to overlook out as anticipated.
The under-pressure Zak Crawley retains his place on the prime of the order alongside Ben Duckett, who will play his first house Test for nearly seven years after making his debut away in Bangladesh.
Ollie Pope continues at No3, with Joe Root and Harry Brook set for his or her first red-ball knocks of the summer season having spent the primary a part of the county season on the IPL.
Bairstow returns to the facet to maintain wicket and is carded to bat at No7, although McCullum instructed on Monday there might be a level of motion between his place and that of Stokes at No6.
England XI to face Ireland: Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes (c), Bairstow (wk), Broad, Potts, Tongue, Leach