Predicting England’s Playing XI for their final Test against West Indies

England clinched the three-match Test series against West Indies with two landslide wins in the first two matches. They won the series opener at Lord’s by an innings and 114 runs and followed it up with a massive 241-run victory at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. 

With their latest victory, the English team moved up to sixth place in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 points table and ensured they were in the race for the final. Ben Stokes and Co. look set to whitewash the home series when they take on the Windies at Edgbaston on July 26 in the third and final match. 

Here is England’s predicted XI for the third Test against West Indies:

Openers: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett 

Zak Crawley failed to shine in the second Test as he managed to score just three runs, including a duck in the first innings. However, the aggressive opener was impressive in the series opener, where he scored 76 off 89 balls to help England take a huge lead. Ben Duckett, on the other hand, struggled in the first Test but found his rhythm in the subsequent match. The left-hander scored 71 and 76 runs in both innings respectively.

Middle-order: Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk)

England’s middle order is in top form and the main reason behind their impressive wins. Ollie Pope is currently the leading run-scorer in the series with 229 runs at an average of 76.33. In three innings, the right-hander smashed two half-centuries and one hundred. 

Former England skipper Joe Root is just behind Pope in the list of most runs with 204 runs at an average of 68.00. He scored a half-century in the series opener and a hundred in the second innings of the second Test. Harry Brook is the third-highest run-getter with 195 runs. The big-hitter followed the same pattern as Root, scoring a fifty in the first Test and a century in the second innings in the Nottingham Test. Meanwhile, keeper-batter Jamie Smith slammed a brilliant half-century in his maiden Test innings but failed to shine in the previous match. 

All-rounders: Ben Stokes (c) Chris Woakes 

Apart from his 69 runs in the first innings of the second Test, captain Ben Stokes hasn’t scored well in the series so far. The fast-bowling all-rounder only managed to pick up two wickets in four innings. Chris Woakes has contributed effectively in both departments. He has grabbed seven wickets in two matches and scored 72 runs while batting at lower order.

Bowlers: Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir 

Gus Atkinson has been the best bowler so far for England. In his debut match, the right-arm pacer registered fifers in both innings and finished with 12 wickets. He is currently leading the wicket-taker list with 16 scalps. Mark Wood managed to pick up just two wickets in his only second Test, but the right-arm speedster posed a huge threat for the Windies with his fearsome pace. Shoaib Bashir did not get a single over to bowl in the first match. However, captain Stokes made him bowl in the second Test and the off-spinner impressed with seven wickets, including a fifer in the second innings. 

England’s playing XI for 3rd 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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