England make three changes for third Ashes test at Headingley

England captain Ben Stokes has made three changes to his Ashes XI for the third test in Leeds which begins on Thursday.

Ollie Pope, Josh Tongue and Jimmy Anderson all make way for Moeen Ali, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, with Harry Brook promoted to number three in the batting order.

Zac Crawley and Ben Duckett will continue as the opening pair, while Joe Root stays at number four.

Photo credit: Stephen Noulton

All rounders Ali and Woakes have been included to strengthen the lower middle order, and are preferred over others like Dan Lawrence, who was touted to replace the injured Pope.

Wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow has jumped into number five, while skipper Stokes will remain at six with Ali and Woakes at seven and eight respectively.

The inclusion of the 36-year-old Ali sees England return to having a frontline spinner within the ranks, with only Joe Root supporting the all-seam attack with occasional off-spin last week at Lords.

Veteran Jimmy Anderson will be given a rest after taking just three wickets over the first two games, and should be ready to return for the fourth test at Old Trafford according to Stokes.

Josh Tongue will be seen as a surprise omission from the XI to many England supporters, as his Ashes debut saw him take five wickets, including two dismissals of Steve Smith.

Mark Wood will be hoping to reciprocate the pace shown by the 25-year-old, as he makes his first appearance since the final of game of the 3-0 series win over Pakistan last December.

Meanwhile, it's a first test match for Chris Woakes on home soil since September 2021, with his last match coming on the tour of West Indies back in March 2022.

England are currently 2-0 down in the series after their most recent test match at Lords ended in a controversial and heated 43-run defeat, meaning The Three Lions will have to win the last three tests to regain the famous Ashes urn.

Only one side has ever overturned a two match deficit to win the series, which was Don Bradman's 1936/37 Australia team.

England XI for third Ashes Test at Headingley:

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Ben Stokes (captain), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad.