ENG vs NZ | England announce Playing XI for third Test; James Anderson ruled out

England have announced their playing XI for the third and final Test against New Zealand at Headingley, Leeds. 

The hosts have been forced to make a change, with James Anderson ruled out of the final Test due to an ankle injury. 

The veteran pacer will be replaced by debutant Jamie Overton who will spearhead the fast bowling attack alongside Stuart Broad and Matthew Potts.

James Anderson has been allowed extra time to recover from the injury, with an eye on the final Test against India in July. English skipper Ben Stokes who suffered a bout of illness this week, has just recovered in time for the Headingley Test. Meanwhile, England have already claimed the series after coming out on top in an edge-of-the-seat second Test.

Jonny Bairstow was the prominent architect in the 299-run chase on the final day, smashing 136 runs off just 92 balls. Ben Stokes also chipped in with a captain’s knock, scoring 75 odd runs to start his captaincy reign with a series win. England already have the reigning ICC World Test Champions on the ropes and will see this as an opportunity to claim a clean sweep.

The pressure is now on Zak Crawley to deliver in the final Test, given that he has scored just 56 runs in four innings at an average of 14. He is set to open the batting with talented left-handed batter Alex Lees. 

England’s Playing XI for the Final Test vs New Zealand:

Alex Lees

Zak Crawley

Ollie Pope

Joe Root

Jonny Bairstow

Ben Stokes (C)

Ben Foakes

Matthew Potts

Jamie Overton

Stuart Broad

Jack Leach