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Jofra Archer is ruled out of the remainder of England's Ashes 2025-26 tour. (AP Photo)
England has dropped vice-captain Ollie Pope for the fourth test against Australia while pacer Jofra Archer was ruled out of the rest of the series with a left side strain, the visitors announced on Wednesday.
“Fast bowler Jofra Archer has been ruled out for the remainder of the tour with a left side strain,” the touring side said in a statement.
Pope’s snub doesn’t come as a surprise as the number three batter was struggling with form. He failed to score any fifty in the six innings he played with 46 in the first test being his highest score. Jacob Bethell will replace Pope in the squad and it will be interesting to see how will the batting of the visitors look like for the fourth test.
With Archer gone, England has another big gap to fill. The pacer took a fifer in the third test and was the only English bowler who troubled the Australian batting line up with his express pace and precise short balls.
Surrey seamer Gus Atkinson will replace Archer as England, 3-0 down in the five-test series, seek to salvage pride in the last two matches.
Apart from the two changes, England is going with same line up with no signs of spinner Shoaib Bashir as Will Jacks remain their go-to spinner for the fourth Test.
With Ashes gone and a lot of criticism for non cricketing reasons, the English team will look to give a tough fight to the home team who will be without skipper Pat Cummins and experienced Nathon Lyon.
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England XI for Boxing Day Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, abd Josh Tongue
English (US) ·