3rd Test: England aim for series whitewash against West Indies
England and West Indies are set to face each other at Edgbaston in Birmingham for the third and final Test of the three-match series, starting July 26. England have already sealed the series, having taken a 2-0 lead with wins at Lord's and Trent Bridge. Ben Stokes' side would be hoping to show their aggression once again and get the job done. Here's more.
A look at the H2H record
West Indies have played 10 Tests at the iconic Edgbaston. WI drew their first-ever Test they played at this venue, back in 1957. Overall, WI have won four and lost three Tests on this ground (3 drawn). As per ESPNcricinfo, 165 Tests have been played between the two teams. England have won 53 matches with WI bagging 59. Meanwhile, 53 games have been drawn.
Timing, TV listing and pitch report
The match is set to start at 3:30pm (IST) on Friday. Fans can watch live action on the Sony Ten Network. Live streaming is available on the SonyLIV app (paid subscription). Batting first at Edgbaston can be key given the nature of the surface where application will promise runs. Bowlers will be in the contest with spinners having something to say.
England have announced an unchanged XI
ENG XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir. WI Probable XI: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Mikyle Louis, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Jason Holder, Joshua Da Silva, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie/Kevin Sinclair, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales.
England are the in-form side
England have shown pedigree with both bat and ball. Ollie Pope, Joe Root and Harry Brook hit centuries in the previous encounter. Pope, in particular, is on the back of three successive fifty-plus scores in this series. Pacer Gus Atkinson remains key with the ball. WI need to show more courage and character. Consistency has been lacking. Skipper Kraigg Brathwaite is yet to fire.
Jeremiah Louis ruled out for WI; Akeem Jordan comes in
WI fast bowler Jeremiah Louis has been ruled out of the final Test due to a hamstring injury, Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced in a statement. The visitors have opted for a like-for-like replacement, bringing uncapped Akeem Jordan into the squad.
Here are the approaching milestones
Root (16,995) is five shy of 17,000 First-Class runs. He is also closing in on 12,000 runs in Test cricket (11,940). Root (833) is aiming to become the top scorer at Edgbaston by surpassing Alastair Cook (869). Stokes (2,990) is nearing 3,000 ICC World Test Championship runs. Pope is 84 shy of completing 1,500 runs on home soil (1,416).
