The Ashes | England considering big changes to bolster squad, may call up Saqib Mahmood for 3rd Test

In a bid to arrest the downward slide in the ongoing Ashes series in Australia, England are likely to bring their cricketers playing in the Big Bash League to bolster the squad, The Cricketer reported.

Most prominent of them all is the pacer Saqib Mahmood and he has been put on stand by the tourists and could well earn a call up before the third Ashes Test scheduled for a Boxing Day Test, the report added.

Apart from James Vince, Sam Billings and Ben Duckett are also in the reckoning to get back into the Test side however there is no certainty about their place in the side.

The possibility of Mahmood in the England pace bowling lineup appears to be stronger on merit as England bowlers have been forced to toil hard both at the Gabba and at the Adelaide Oval in the first two Tests of the series.

On the other hand, if the likes of Vince, Billings and Duckett are actually called up, it could well be the end of the road for the likes of Rory Burns and Ollie Pope, who have had struggled so far in the series. Both the batsmen have been found out especially by Mitchell Starc while Pope has been struggling against the off-spin of Nathan Lyon as well.

England are pushed against the wall to save the second Test of the series and the duo of Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes are doing their best to rescue them on the final day of the Day-Night Test.