England vs India: ECB announces squad for second Test at Lord's

The England Cricket Board (ECB) has announced the squad for the second Test against India at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in London from August 9. The selectors have made a couple of changes in the 13-man team and have roped in wicketkeeper-batsman Ollie Pope and all-rounder Chris Woakes. They replaced left-handed batsman, Dawid Malan and all-rounder Ben Stokes, respectively.

Malan wasn’t in impressive form in the opening Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham. He miserably faltered with the willow in hand and also dropped quite a few catches in the slip cordon, which also included one of Virat Kohli, who went on to be a thorn in the flesh of England’s bowling lineup. Moeen Ali and James Porter, who were released after the start of opening Test were also included in the squad.

Stokes omission- A big miss  

Stokes will appear at Bristol Crown Court on Monday surrounding the affray he got himself involved in September last year. He can still be available for the next Test provided the hearing gets adjourned on Monday itself. The Canterbury-born all-rounder played an important part in England’s victorious campaign in the first Test. He picked six wickets including Kohli’s wicket in the second innings.

The last few months for Pope has been phenomenal, to say the least. He has played eight matches for Surrey in the County Championship in which he has racked up 684 runs at an incredible average of 85.50. He also notched up three centuries and a half-century with a highest score of 158. He has also been impressive in the T20 Blast.  In eight matches, the 20-year-old has 135 runs under his belt.

Here is the squad

Joe Root(c), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid, Sam Curran, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, James Porter

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