Church Crisis
The resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, over historic abuse allegations is a moment of reckoning for the Church of England.
England has made a single change to their lineup for the second Test against the West Indies at Trent Bridge, recalling fast bowler Mark Wood to replace the recently retired James Anderson. The match is set to begin on Thursday.
Wood was unavailable for the first Test at Lord’s as he had just returned from England’s T20 World Cup campaign in the Caribbean. During the tournament, Wood took three wickets in five matches. Despite not playing a first-class match for Durham this season, his inclusion in the squad was confirmed after England’s dominant innings-and-114-run victory at Lord’s.
This selection marks a significant moment for England, as it will be the first home Test since 2012, and only the second since 2007, without either Anderson or Stuart Broad in the playing XI. Anderson was seen at Trent Bridge on Tuesday, taking up his new role as England’s bowling coach following his farewell appearance at Lord’s.
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Matthew Potts and Dillon Pennington, who were originally included in the squad for the first two Tests, will have to wait for their opportunities. Potts, who made an impressive start to his Test career with 23 wickets in his first six matches in 2022 and 2023, has not played for England since the Ireland Test at Lord’s last June. Pennington, on the other hand, is yet to make his Test debut.
Wood’s selection follows the remarkable success of another 90mph seamer, Gus Atkinson, who delivered a stunning performance with match figures of 12 for 106 in the first Test at Lord’s. This achievement ranks as the fourth-best by a debutant in Test history.
Shoaib Bashir, England’s off-spinner, retains his place in the XI despite not bowling in the Lord’s Test, which was his first home appearance for the country.
England squad for second Test:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir
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