England need to win the upcoming contest to win back the Wisden Trophy while even a draw for the visitors will help West Indies retain the title.
England's Ben Stokes (2nd L) celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of West Indies' Jermaine Blackwood (R) for 55 during play on the final day of the second Test cricket match between England and the West Indies at Old Trafford in Manchester, northwest England on July 20, 2020. (Photo by Jon Super / POOL / AFP)
England head coach Chris Silverwood has assured that they will field their best-possible bowling attack in the third Test at Old Trafford beginning on Friday.
The three-match series currently stand at balance with both the teams winning one match each. After West Indies won the first Test in Southampton by four wickets, England fought back in the following game and won by 113 runs in Manchester.
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“We want to win this game and will put out our strongest attack,” Silverwood told reporters as per Daily Mail as quoted by IANS.
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“I’ll speak to (national selector) Ed Smith and Rooty (skipper Joe Root) and we will make a plan. It’s never easy, and you’re going to get pushback, but if you’re in a position where you can leave out world-class players, that’s good for English cricket,” he added.
England have so far resisted the idea of playing veteran pacers Stuart Broad and James Anderson together. Also the return of Jofra Archer leaves the team management with a lot of options while deciding on the playing XI.
“It’s not as clean cut as that,” Silverwood said regarding Anderson-Broad potential reunion for the final Test.
“I think it was right to leave Jimmy out of the last Test. We have to try to look after him so when he does play, he can perform for us.
“We’ve been in touch with him (Archer) all the way through the Test. As we’ve said, we try to look after our players to the best of our ability.
“Their well-being is our top priority so Jofra has been looked after and I think he’ll be glad to be back with us. He’s done his five days, his Covid tests are negative and he’ll integrate back into the squad,” the head coach added.
England will be desperate to win the final Test as it will ensure that the Wisden Trophy gets back to them. A win for West Indies or a draw final match will see the visitors retaining the trophy as Jason Holder’s troops had earlier won the series in Caribbean Islands.
With IANS inputs
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