Mark Wood In, Ollie Robinson Out: England Announce Playing XI for 5th Test

Dharamshala: England have tweaked their bowling attack for the fifth and final Test against India, starting on March 7th at the HPCA Stadium. Pace bowler Mark Wood returns to the side, replacing Ollie Robinson in the only change to the playing XI.

Wood brings back his express pace after missing the third Test in Ranchi. The speedster picked up four wickets in the first two Tests at Hyderabad and Rajkot, but England opted to manage his workload.

Robinson, on the other hand, failed to pick up any wickets in his sole appearance of the series at Ranchi, a match England went on to lose by five wickets.

This change signifies England’s intent to bolster their fast bowling attack for the series decider. Wood’s return provides them with an extra edge in pace alongside the likes of James Anderson. With Joe Root offering his part-time off-spin, England will have a balanced bowling attack with two seamers and two frontline spinners.

England (Playing XI): Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, Mark Wood, James Anderson.