England make surprise selection for Lord’s Ashes Test

England have announced their team a day early for the second men’s Ashes Test against Australia at Lord’s.

There is one change to the England playing XI from the side that suffered the two-wicket loss at Edgbaston last week, with Moeen Ali missing out.

And with Moeen not selected, England have instead opted for a four-pronged seam attack, with inexperienced Josh Tongue added to the team for Lord’s.

Tongue made his England debut at Lord’s earlier this month against Ireland, taking 5/66 in the second innings and offering Ben Stokes a point of difference with his pace and bounce.

But an Ashes call-up is a huge step up for a 25-year-old who was earmarked as a future England bowler way back in 2017, before a string of injuries slowed his development.

The noises from England had been positive about the fitness of Moeen, who suffered an injury to his spinning finger during the Edgbaston Test.

The 36-year-old’s recent record in Tests at Lord’s is impressive, with his 14 wickets from his last four matches at the ground coming at an average of 20.14. But fears over a repeat injury mean England have given their primary spinner an extra week to recover.

Rehan Ahmed had been called up as cover for Moeen, but with some rain and unpredictable weather forecast for the week in London, and with captain Ben Stokes not at full fitness, England have instead opted for an additional seam option.

Mark Wood, Matthew Potts and Chris Woakes were also in the squad, but concerns over a tweak to an elbow issue means Wood has not been risked, while Woakes and Potts’ similarity to the remainder of England’s bowling attack of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson is believed to have counted against the pair.

England XI for Lord’s Test
Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jonathan Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, James Anderson (ICC)