Ashes 2023 | Top-3 Changes That England Could Make For Lord's Test
England lost the Edgbaston Test by two wickets [Source: AP Photo]
The Ashes 2023 kicked off in style with the first Test at Edgbaston going down to the wire, with both England and Australia in contention for a win till the last few overs on Day 5. Skipper Pat Cummins displayed grit, determination, and level-headedness during his 55-run unbeaten eight-wicket stand with Nathan Lyon to get Australia past the winning line and take a crucial 1-0 lead in their bid to retain the urn.
England, who in most parts of the match were ahead of the visitors, lacked in places, where a team like Australia took complete advantage. Captain Ben Stokes' decision to declare on Day 1 will forever be debated whenever someone mentions this Test, but for the hosts, it was more than just a declaration that contributed to their loss.
Head coach Brendon McCullum and the think-tank will have an ample amount of time before the second Test at the Lord's takes place and fine-tune their minor faults.
In this list, let's look into what are three changes that England should make heading into the next Test.
Mark Wood
Wood is lone tearaway pacer in England's Ashes squad (Twitter)
Despite having the likes of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson, England's bowling attack looks one-dimensional, with much focus on movement, which could be negated by the batter seeing the lack of speed. Usman Khawaja exhibited the same during both his knock.
England could easily rope in Mark Wood to compensate for that, and add sheer pace to their arsenal. Wood managed to rattle Australian batters during the last Ashes series Down Under. Anderson in all likelihood looks to sit out from the Lord's encounter given his poor outing at Edgbaston.
Over the years, the tearaway seamer has played 28 Test matches to snap 90 wickets at an average of 30.88. Meanwhile, he has played eight Tests against the World Champions to scalp a total of 27 wickets.
Chris Woakes
Woakes last played a Test in March 2022 (Twitter)
With Moeen Ali nursing an injury, England could very well look into bringing in Chris Woakes. The willy all-rounder can provide the batting with depth, and also trouble Australian batters with his change in pace and variations much-like Scott Boland.
Conditions at Lord's are known to be favourable for pacers, and with Woakes' leg-cutters mixed in with pin-point accuracy can be a handful for Ben Stokes and Co.
The 34-year-old Woakes is an experienced opponent, playing 47 Test matches for England, where he has bagged 1675 runs with a century at the Lord's alongside 130 wickets to his name.
Matthew Potts
Potts has represented England in 6 Test matches (Twitter)
Coach Brendon McCullum could easily pull a rabbit out the hat and play Matthew Potts in place of Ollie Robinson. Robinson, who has been in the eye of the storm, could get sometime to cool off, and have Potts bring in some much-needed variety.
An exponent of extracting bounce, Potts could trouble Australian batter with bodyline stuff, something that has been tired and tested in the past as well.
The 24-year-old Durham pacer may have played just six Test matches so far in his brief career, but he has shown that he has tons of talent in him.
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 "Vishal Mehra")
