England is desperate to win the final Test of the Ashes series at the Sydney Cricket Ground and has hence made massive changes to their squad.
Despite injuries, they have revamped their squad wisely and would be up defending the honor for Bazball in Australia.
England has lost the Ashes, but they have not lost hope of ending the Ashes tour on a confident note. The MCG Test marked the first win for Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes’ side; however, many, including several England greats, have claimed it to be a lottery by fate.
Hence, Ben Stokes’ team would be looking to earn a good victory based on true efforts in the final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, which could restore the lost honor for Bazball and also reinforce the belief in Brendon McCullum’s strategies.
England announces 12-member squad for SCG Test.
The final Ashes Test is scheduled to be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground from the 4th of January, and just two days before the match, England has revealed their squad. The squad marks several changes as a handful of players missed out on this occasion.
The visitors have specially included Shoaib Bashir and Matthew Potts in the squad. Neither of these two players has played a game in the series yet. Gus Atkinson joined England’s injury list as the player was ruled out with a hamstring injury during the fourth Test at MCG.
England Squad: Ben Stokes (C), Shoaib Bashir, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Jamie Smith (wk), and Josh Tongue.
Will England rely on a spin-heavy lineup at Sydney?
England has opted to bring in Shoaib Bashir, the off-spinner, replacing Ollie Pope in the England squad. Such a wild change would not be made without a proper plan by the England management.
Sydney has been a fairground known largely for favoring spinners. If England opts for a spin-heavy attack, then they can round up against the Aussies with Will Jacks, Shoaib Bashir, and lastly Jacob Bethell ganging up on the Aussies.
However, England management has never relied upon so many spinners in the side, though Bethell would anyway feature as a batsman in the top order. The main doubt surrounds Will Jacks’ participation with Bashir now being available as the lead spinner.
Revisiting the Ashes 2021/22 SCG Test
Last time around when Ashes was played in Australia during the 2021/22 stint, England managed to finish the game with a draw after playing out the remainder of the match in the fourth innings.
Australia had dominated them with a massive score in the first innings, followed by England’s early dismissal. Chasing a massive target, England is 270/9 after 102 overs on Day 5. That had helped England avoid the whitewash as they finished the series 4-0, losing the next match at Hobart.
This time, having broken their 15-year-long losing streak in Australia, England would be eyeing ending the Ashes on a dominant 3-2 defeat, which would be exceptional considering their poor show in the first three games.