England make three changes for third Ashes Test at Headingley

Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali and Mark Wood have been recalled to replace James Anderson, Josh Tongue and the injured Ollie Pope

England have recalled a trio of bowlers for the third Ashes Test at Headingley.

Moeen Ali, who featured in the defeat at Edgbaston in the first Test but struggled with blisters on his index finger, returns alongside Chris Woakes and Mark Wood.

Bowlers James Anderson and Josh Tongue have both been rested while vice-captain Ollie Pope has been ruled out of the remainder of the series after dislocating his shoulder at Lord's.

England have opted to promote Harry Brook to No.3 rather than bring Dan Lawrence into the XI. Brook has not played in the position since 2018 and averages just 22.2 at No.3. 

^{James Anderson has been rested alongside Josh Tongue [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]}

^{Harry Brook has been promoted to No.3 after Ollie Pope was ruled out due to injury [Ryan Pierse/Getty Images]}

This will be Woakes' first Test appearance under Brendon McCullum, with his most recent outing coming against West Indies in March 2022.

Wood, meanwhile, played two Tests against Pakistan in December 2022 but hasn't featured in a first-class match since then.

Ben Stokes had planned to deploy Wood, a genuine pace threat, at Lord's but the pair opted to delay his return by another week.

"I spoke to him about how I'd want him to operate in this game and he was very honest with me," Stokes said ahead of the Lord's Test.

"He wasn't sure if he'd be able to give what he's [been] known for throughout this Test match, so the decision was made to allow him to keep building his body up to give himself the best opportunity to go out from Leeds onwards to play a full part."

England trail Australia 2-0 after losing by two wickets at Edgbaston and 43 runs at Lord's, and must win the remaining three Tests if they are to regain the Ashes.

England XI: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Harry Brook, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs 🇦🇺 | England have named their XI for the Headingley Test.

Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood come into the team.#Ashes pic.twitter.com/YBh1gjjEiD

— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) July 5, 2023

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