India vs England, 4th Test: Hosts add Jack Leach, Jos Buttler for Old Trafford Test
Jos Buttler missed the fourth Test due to the birth of his daughter
England have added spinner Jack Leach to their squad, while wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler has returned ahead of the fifth and final Test against India, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Tuesday.
Buttler had missed the fourth Test due to the birth of his daughter. England suffered a 157-run loss to India at the Kia Oval and as a result, they go into the fifth Test trailing 1-2 in the five-match Test series.
"Lancashire wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler returns to the squad following the birth of his daughter during the fourth Test at the Kia Oval. Somerset spinner Jack Leach has been added to the squad for the final Test of the series. Batsman Sam Billings, who was included in the fourth Test squad, has returned to Kent," wrote ECB in an official release.
Leach's addition has come in as a surprise, considering he has not played any part so far in the series as England have been satisfied with Moeen Ali and Joe Root as their spin options. Leach was in the squad for the first two Tests. After not receiving a game, England had released him to play for Somerset. It looks like seeing Indian spinner Ravindra Jadeja taste success at Oval, the hosts could have had a change in mind.
Lancashire's 'keeper-batsman Buttler has been England's first-choice wicket-keeper for over a year now. While he is expected to straight away be drafted into the XI, one of Jonny Bairstow or Oille Pope will have to miss out. Even though Bairstow has played every game in the underway series, he is averaging less than 30. On the other hand, Pope, who replaced Buttled for the fourth Test, scored an impressive 81 in the first innings but failed to deliver during his side's chase of 368.
"Jos will be available for Old Trafford and yes there will be a decision that has to be made, so we'll be making that over the next few days. I'm going to keep my thoughts to myself for the moment, I'm going to have a sleep on it and then I can obviously make decisions from there. Myself and Joe can have a talk and make a decision," England head coach Chris Silverwood was quoted, as saying in an interview.
Despite James Anderson and Oille Robinson were burdened with workload in the fourth Test, England did not add another fast bowler to their squad. Since the 33-year-old Anderson looked exhausted at the end of India's second innings, Silverwood admitted that the management will have to decide whether Anderson will play at his home ground, Old Trafford.
"It'll be a discussion that he and I will have together. He will have input into that, without a shadow of a doubt. James knows his own body. We have got a bit of time now between this game and the next one. I know what it's like, he won't want to miss any cricket. We have to make sure we look after him. Although there is a gap between the final Test and what's in front of him. He's certainly someone I want to make sure is looked after," added Silverwood.
England's 16-man squad: Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood