AUS vs ENG: England playing XI announced for Ashes third test
The England Cricket Team has announced their playing XI for the third Ashes test, which is scheduled to commence on December 17 at the Adelaide Oval, Adelaide. England made one change for their final playing XI. Josh Tongue will feature in the playing XI, instead of Gus Atkinson. Tongue was featured last time against India at the Oval, in which England lost the match by six runs.
Apart from this, the rest of the England team will be unchanged for this match. They are currently trailing the series by 0-2 against the hosts. In both of the tests, they lost by 8 wickets. They will have to win the next game; otherwise, they will lose the series. Even a drawing contest will not help them.
So far in the series, Mitchell Starc has become a headache for England’s batters. He has taken 18 wickets in the first two matches. England will have to find a solution against him; otherwise, the result will remain as it was earlier.
The England management is confident in both openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, despite their poor performances. Crawley has scored 120 runs, including a 76-run knock, but Duckett is still finding runs. He has only scored 64 runs so far in this ongoing Ashes 2025/26. Ollie Pope also did not look great and scored 105 runs in 4 innings. Joe Root, after his first test failure, returned to his form and hit a century in the second test, only great news for England. Following this, Harry Brook (98 runs), skipper Ben Stokes (77 runs), and wicket-keeper Jamie Smith (52 runs) also didn’t contribute.
In the bowling department, England made a slight effort. Brydon Carse took nine wickets, while Ben Stokes took eight. However, they will need their premier bowler, Jofra Archer, to play at his best if they want to win this series.
On the other hand, Australia will want to seal this series in the upcoming cricket match. They have played excellently so far in the first two matches. For this match, their regular skipper Pat Cummins and veteran test opener Usman Khawaja are also available. And it is almost confirmed that they both will feature in the playing XI. So, Australia will also enter with a couple of changes. With these two veteran players' inclusion in the playing XI, Australia's morale will increase even more.
England playing 11 for the third test
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes ©, Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue.
