Fri. Nov 22nd, 2024
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Venue: Lord’s Dates: 28 June – 2 July
Coverage: Ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra, Radio 4 LW, online, tablets, mobiles and BBC Sport app. Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website.

England have included Josh Tongue in an all-pace attack for the second Ashes Test against Australia.

Tongue, 25, comes in as the only change from the team that lost the first Test at Edgbaston to replace off-spinner Moeen Ali.

Moeen was a doubt with a cut to his spinning finger, but bowled in the nets on Monday and was thought to be fit.

Tongue made his Test debut against Ireland at Lord’s earlier this month, taking 5-66 in the second innings.

He is preferred to Mark Wood, who was felt to need another week to be fully match fit – the third Test is at Headingley on 6 July.

Without Moeen, responsibility for spin will fall to Joe Root, who took one wicket with his off-breaks at Edgbaston.

In the second innings, Root actually bowled more overs than Moeen as the Warwickshire man nursed his finger.

Moeen, 36, came out of Test retirement to play in the Ashes after regular frontline spinner Jack Leach suffered a stress fracture in his back.

Leach was ever present in the England team after Ben Stokes took over as captain at the beginning of last summer and this will be the first Test under Stokes that England have not fielded a frontline spinner.

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