England have named their XI for the first Test against India, which is set to begin later this week, putting to an end speculation over who will start the series in possession of both their No.3 and opener spot.
Following Jacob Bethell's success in the winter New Zealand Tests and his subsequent performances in white-ball cricket over the last few months, whether he would replace one of Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope in England's first XI was the biggest question facing the side ahead of the series. However, following Pope and Crawley scoring centuries against Zimbabwe last month, both have retained their places in the side, with Bethell missing out.
That means England will field a familiar-looking top seven, with Ben Duckett partnering Crawley and the middle-order stronghold of Joe Root, Harry Brook and Ben Stokes still intact. Jamie Smith slots in at seven, having made way for Bethell to take paternity leave during the New Zealand series but taken the gloves back against Zimbabwe.
England XI vs India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
Elsewhere in the XI, Chris Woakes comes back into the side after missing the game against Zimbabwe to recover from an ankle injury. Brydon Carse will also play his first Test on home soil after coming into the side over the winter, impressing with 27 wickets in five Test matches.
The pace-bowling lineup is completed by Josh Tongue, who returned to the side for the first time in almost two years against Zimbabwe. Tongue has battled a series of injuries in that time, but took two wickets in the match, which England won by an innings and 45 runs. His inclusion means there is no room for Essex seamer Sam Cook, who made his long-awaited Test debut against Zimbabwe. He and Jamie Overton, alongside Bethell, are the players named in England's squad who haven't made the final XI, with Shoaib Bashir rounding out the side.
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