‌Josh Hull set for debut as England announce Playing XI for third Test

The 20-year-old was roped in ahead of the second Test at Lord’s but warmed the bench despite four pacers being picked in the game. Although he acted as the substitute fielder occasionally in the match, his official first appearance for the national side will be in the third Test. Matthew Potts, who scalped five wickets across a couple of Tests, has been dropped for the Leicestershire-based bowler. 

Hull, 6’7, is known for his quick pace with a left-arm arm angle and has played ten first-class games so far. He has bagged 16 wickets at a moderate average of 62.75 in his short span. 

“He was an incredibly hard worker and thought about the game, which stood out really well,” County's head of talent pathway, Jigar Naik told BBC Radio Leicester’s Talking Foxes podcast.

He believes that Hull is an early progress and his ability to swing the ball into the right-hander at a good pace gives him an extra edge. 

“The sky's the limit, he’s tall - 6ft 7in - he’s only 20, he bowls 85, 86 miles per hour regularly, and he swings it back into the right-hander, so the attributes are there,” Naik added,

England have already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. However, the last game isn’t a dead-rubber with respect to the World Test Championship points where the Three Lions are located fifth with 45 points. 

It is also worth noting that Andrew Flintoff is supposed to take over the interim head coach’s role from Marcus Trescothick from the particular game until the five white ball games against Australia later this month. 

England’s Playing XI for the third Test:  

  1.⁠ ⁠Dan Lawrence

 2.⁠ ⁠Ben Duckett

 3.⁠ ⁠Ollie Pope (c)

 4.⁠ ⁠Joe Root

 5.⁠ ⁠Harry Brook (vc)

 6.⁠ ⁠Jamie Smith (wk)

 7.⁠ ⁠Chris Woakes

 8.⁠ ⁠Gus Atkinson

 9.⁠ ⁠Olly Stone

10.⁠ ⁠Josh Hull

11.⁠ ⁠Shoaib Bashir