“It makes England less vulnerable at the toss” – Michael Atherton on England replacing Shoaib Bashir with Mark Wood for 3rd Test vs India

Former cricketer Michael Atherton has backed England's decision to include two seamers in their playing XI for the third Test against India at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot, starting on February 15. The 55-year-old justified the change as Mark Wood replaced Shoaib Bashir in the playing XI, saying that the 'evenly grassed' pitch would assist pacers.

The comments come even as Bashir bagged four wickets against India on his Test debut in Visakhapatnam. Wood had returned wicketless in the opening Test in Hyderabad, but that came on a spin-friendly track.

On the eve of the third Test, Michael Atherton, a former England captain, told Sky Sports:

“I think it’s a sensible change. The pitch looks more evenly grassed than in the first two games. So, they have slightly changed the balance of the side, bringing the extra seamer, which I think is the right thing to do. It makes England less vulnerable at the toss.”

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“It’s an advantage to both of them” – Michael Atherton on England playing James Anderson and Mark Wood

Michael Atherton further stressed that playing James Anderson and Mark Wood will only add to England's advantage on the batting-friendly deck. The cricketer-turned-commentator also backed Anderson to continue his exploits following his five-wicket outing in the second Test against India in Visakhapatnam.

Atherton, who played 115 Tests for England, said:

“James Anderson bowled brilliantly in that last Test match. He’ll have a little bit more support from Mark Wood here in this game. Wood himself played as a lone seamer in the first match. I think it’s an advantage to both of them, they’ll have each other to lean on.”

For the unversed, Anderson needs five wickets to become the first-ever pacer to take 700 wickets in Tests. The 41-year-old has bagged 39 wickets in 14 Tests in India so far.

Meanwhile, Wood will be looking forward to posing a serious threat to the inexperienced Indian middle order in the absence of senior players. The hosts are likely to pick among Sarfaraz Ahmed, Dhruv Jurel, Devudtt Padikkal, and Rajat Patidar in the middle order.

England playing XI for 3rd Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood and James Anderson.

The five-match Test series is currently tied 1-1. India won the second Test by 106 runs, while the visitors emerged victorious by 28 runs in the series opener.