Jonny Bairstow picked as specialist batsman as Moeen Ali and Sam Curran return for fourth Test against India
Bairstow was taken to hospital after fracturing his finger in the third Test
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Your support makes all the difference.Jos Buttler will keep wicket for England in the fourth Test against India and Jonny Baristow will play as a specialist batsman after failing to recover from a fractured finger in time to retain the gloves.
Joe Root also announced all-rounder Moeen Ali’s return for his first Test of the summer at the expense of dropped specialist batsman Ollie Pope – whose number four position will be filled by Bairstow, while Sam Curran is back as well for the injured Chris Woakes.
England lead 2-1 and victory at Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl will seal the series against the top-ranked Test side before the final match at The Oval.
Root, who will continue to bat at three, said he expects Bairstow to be disappointed with the decision but insists it was a medical call to strip him of wicket-keeping duties.
“It was a medical call, he didn’t seem fit and able to keep 100 per cent in a Test match for five days and that was the call that was made.
“He will be disappointed but ultimately we’ve got to make sure we do the best thing for this team to win this game and I believe Jos is the right man to do it this time.
“Jos has got this opportunity for this game and potentially the rest of this series – we’ll have to wait and see. We’re very fortunate to have two fantastic options in Jos and Jonny and hopefully the guys use it in the right way to motivate themselves to improve.”
Ali will play in his first Test match since being dropped during the tour of New Zealand after a disappointing winter which saw him average 19 with the bat and 115 with the ball in the Ashes series.
The England captain has been full of praise for the all-rounder, who scored a double-century for Worcestershire against Yorkshire in the County Championship.
“He’s in fine form, he’s gone back to his county and, what you want from international players is for them to go back and prove a point, and that’s exactly what Moeen’s done in the last couple of weeks.
“He seems in a really good place so that’s a good sign for England moving forward and good for him as he’s obviously gone away and worked really hard at his game.”
England team to play India
Fourth Test
Alastair Cook
Keaton Jennings
Joe Root (c)
Jonny Bairstow
Ben Stokes
Jos Buttler
Moeen Ali
Sam Curran
Adil Rashid
James Anderson
Stuart Broad
England’s defeat at Trent Bridge came as a result of another collapse in the top order which left them 62-4 in the morning session on day four. Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings have failed to score a half-century between them, but Root says the threat of competition can help them improve.
“At the top of the order guys keep coming in and making it very difficult for someone else to make their way back in if they’ve got injuries.
“Hopefully this is a great chance for these two guys to keep pushing each other to improve and take their game to the next level.”
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