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Lancashire left-arm spinner Tom Hartley will make his debut as England announced their playing XI for the first Test against India more than 20 hours before the toss in Hyderabad. The Ben Stokes-led side decided to field three specialist spinners in Hartley, Jack Leach and Rehan Ahmed. In the official statement that the ECB released on Wednesday, they said: “The Three Lions have named four spinners in their side and one seamer…” possibly hinting at Joe Root being the fourth spin-bowling option.
The lone pacer in the side was Mark Wood which means there was no space for James Anderson, the most experienced member of the English side and also the one with the most wickets in Test cricket among all fast bowlers.
What might have gone in Wood’s favour is his express pace.
“If we do choose to go with just the one seamer, you can’t deny what Woody possesses as a package,” Stokes said before the Test. “His express pace and he can get the ball reverse swinging as well … the skill that he has is obviously something that you want in your team.”
This is not the first time England have decided to go in with three spinners in their XI. The last time they did that was during their 2021 tour in Ahmedabad. Anderson was the lone specialist seamer in the team but he had captain Stokes for company who picked up four wickets in the match.
Wood, who will play his maiden Test in India, however, might not be that lucky this time around as it is extremely unlikely that Stokes would bowl in the first Test.
Leach would be the leader of England’s bowling attack as things stand now. He is the only bowler in the XI named by England who has prior experience of playing in India. His spin-bowling partners Ahmed, in his second Test and Hartley, on debut, are quite inexperienced at this level.
In his only Test, leg-spinner Ahmed picked up seven wickets against Pakistan. Hartley, on the other hand, has 40 wickets in 20 first-class games and if reports are to be believed then he is England’s answer to India’s Axar Patel; a tall left-arm spinner who can explore the variable bounce better.
Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes have also been included in the XI after not being involved in England’s last Test against Australia at The Oval. Foakes will take the gloves instead of Jonny Bairstow.
Another English spinner Shoaib Bashir has yet to travel to India due to a visa delay for which he was placed out of the playing eleven. Bashir was born in England’s Surrey and holds a British passport, but due to his Pakistani heritage, the bowler was facing trouble entering India for the five-match Test series.
The five-match Test series between India and England begins on January 25 in Hyderabad with the next four matches to be played in Vizag, Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamsala.
England XI for 1st Test vs India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes (Wk), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, Jack Leach.
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