The England Cricket Board (ECB) on Wednesday announced the playing XI for the team’s second Test against South Africa scheduled to take place at Emirates Old Trafford. Pacer Ollie Robinson has made a comeback to the side while replacing Matthew Potts. Captain Ben Stokes has retained the rest of the players who played the Lord’s Test. Notably, the second Test starts on 25 August (Thursday).
England’s ability to bounce back from a defeat will be put to test when they take the field in the second Test against the Proteas. As the Three Lions had not lost a single Test under their new captain-coach duo of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, a defeat by an innings within three days was a shocker for England. As they look to draw level in the three-match Test series it is going to be an interesting match to look out for.
However, captain Ben Stokes reasserted that the team’s approach will be more or less the same as the first Test. “Absolutely not” was the reply from Stokes when he was asked about whether England will approach things differently after a thrashing. "We know well that when we perform to the capabilities that we're capable of, then we can go out and put on an incredible performance like everybody's seen in the four games before,” he added.
Meanwhile, South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj heaped praise on his captain for the team’s success of late. Maharaj said that more role clarity within the team given by Elgar is working wonders for the team. "I think we know what to do and go about our business a lot better," said Maharaj. "And there's more clarity and role definition within the team. "I think that's been Dean's mantra from the time he's taken over as the Test captain."
England Men's XI: Zak Crawley, Alex Lees, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Ben Foakes, Stuart Broad, Jack Leach, Ollie Robinson and James Anderson.