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Ashes 2019: England replace Roy & Overton with Woakes & Curran for fifth Test at Oval
Jason Roy and Craig Overton have been dropped from the England team for the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval, with Sam Curran and Chris Woakes coming in.
Ben Stokes, unfit to bowl because of a shoulder injury, will play as a specialist batsman.
Batsman Roy has been omitted after scoring only 110 runs in eight Ashes innings, with a highest score of 31.
Australia have retained the Ashes after victory at Old Trafford gave them an unassailable 2-1 lead in the series.
Seamer Overton was recalled to the England side for the Old Trafford Test but finished with match figures of 2-107.
Surrey all-rounder Curran has impressed with the bat in his previous 10 Tests for England.
The 21-year-old also offers a different option for England's bowling attack with his left-arm medium pace.
Root said Stokes' injury had prompted Roy's omissions because the "balance" of the side needed to change.
"Jason's the unfortunate one to miss out," said Root. "He's had an opportunity to come in and play Test cricket, get a feel for it, and it's not quite gone how he would have liked."
Of Stokes, he said: "He might be able to bowl a couple of overs here and there, but his batting, as this series has shown, is a massive part of our side and he rightly deserves to be in this team as just a batter, and a top-four batter.
"So he will I'm sure want to find different ways of getting himself into the game, even if it's not with the ball."
Australia, searching for a first series win in England since 2001, have dropped middle-order batsman Travis Head for all-rounder Mitchell Marsh.
Marsh scored two centuries in the Ashes series in Australia in 2017-18.
England team for fifth Ashes Test: Joe Root (c), Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes
Australia: David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Mitch Marsh, Matthew Wade, Tim Paine (c, wk), Pat Cummins, Peter Siddle, Mitch Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
- 2 hours ago
- From the sectionCricket
Jason Roy and Craig Overton have been dropped from the England team for the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval, with Sam Curran and Chris Woakes coming in.
Ben Stokes, unfit to bowl because of a shoulder injury, will play as a specialist batsman.
Batsman Roy has been omitted after scoring only 110 runs in eight Ashes innings, with a highest score of 31.
Australia have retained the Ashes after victory at Old Trafford gave them an unassailable 2-1 lead in the series.
Seamer Overton was recalled to the England side for the Old Trafford Test but finished with match figures of 2-107.
Surrey all-rounder Curran has impressed with the bat in his previous 10 Tests for England.
The 21-year-old also offers a different option for England's bowling attack with his left-arm medium pace.
Root said Stokes' injury had prompted Roy's omissions because the "balance" of the side needed to change.
"Jason's the unfortunate one to miss out," said Root. "He's had an opportunity to come in and play Test cricket, get a feel for it, and it's not quite gone how he would have liked."
Of Stokes, he said: "He might be able to bowl a couple of overs here and there, but his batting, as this series has shown, is a massive part of our side and he rightly deserves to be in this team as just a batter, and a top-four batter.
"So he will I'm sure want to find different ways of getting himself into the game, even if it's not with the ball."
Australia, searching for a first series win in England since 2001, have dropped middle-order batsman Travis Head for all-rounder Mitchell Marsh.
Marsh scored two centuries in the Ashes series in Australia in 2017-18.
England team for fifth Ashes Test: Joe Root (c), Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes
Australia: David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Mitch Marsh, Matthew Wade, Tim Paine (c, wk), Pat Cummins, Peter Siddle, Mitch Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood