England have left out Jofra Archer from their XI for the second match of the 2025 Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy to be played at Edgbaston from July 2.
Unchanged XI named, no place for Archer
England have named an unchanged XI for the second Test of the series. The most notable omission is Jofra Archer, who recently returned to the Test squad after a four-year absence; his last appearance in the format came in February 2021, also against India. Last week, Archer played his first first-class match in four years for Sussex in the 2025 County Championship last week. However, his exclusion from the England XI means he must wait longer for his Test comeback.
Archer didn't join the England Test squad for the training session on Monday due to a family emergency. However, he is expected to be on Tuesday.
"England Men’s fast bowler Jofra Archer will not be joining the England Test squad for today’s training session at Edgbaston, Monday 30 June, due to a family emergency," read an ECB statement.
"He is expected to rejoin the squad tomorrow, Tuesday, ahead of the Rothesay second Test at Edgbaston, which begins on Wednesday against India."
Zak Crawley, whose place was under scrutiny, retains his spot after a 126-ball 65 in a 188-run opening stand with Ben Duckett, which helped England complete their second-highest successful fourth-innings chase of 371 at Headingley. Another player under pressure before the series was Ollie Pope, but his first-innings century (106) at Headingley temporarily silenced critics, meaning rising star Jacob Bethell must wait longer for his chance.
India's pace attack in Test cricket bears a new look for this tour of England 🇮🇳
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) June 30, 2025
Do you remember these quicks who slipped through India’s fast bowling transition in recent years? #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/FGMDe5SWzp
In the bowling department, England’s faith in their players is evident as they persist with veteran seam-bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes. Despite conceding 103 runs without a wicket in the first innings at Headingley, he showed improvement in the second innings with figures of 1-45 from 19 overs. Similarly, spinner Shoaib Bashir (1-100 and 2-90) had a quiet match, but England have retained both in their unchanged XI. Josh Tongue (4-86 and 3-72), who played a key role in cleaning up India’s tail at Headingley, completes the bowling attack alongside Brydon Carse and captain Ben Stokes.
England's squad for second Test against India
Ben Stokes (c), Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue and Shoaib Bashir.
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