Mark Wood returns for England as Jonny Bairstow picked for 100th Test
England are 3-1 down in a series already lost against India
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Your support makes all the difference.England turn to Mark Wood to inject some pace into their bowling attack in pursuit of a consolation victory over India in the fifth Test in Dharamsala.
The final Test of the series, which the hosts lead 3-1, will also see Jonny Bairstow make his 100th Test appearance in what has been a thrilling international career.
Ollie Robinson makes way for Wood, having failed to produce a wicket last week in Ranchi, with captain Ben Stokes making no further changes and reinforcing the strategy to play with two spinners in Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir. That’s despite cool conditions in the foothills of the Himalayas, while England expect Bashir to shake off a bout of illness, which forced him to skip Wednesday’s practice with an upset stomach.
Robinson was also absent, with England captain Ben Stokes stating: “Before we even got here we thought it was probably going to be a three seam and one spin but turning up yesterday and seeing the wicket and again today, going with two seamers and two spinners is probably the right call.
“We thought there would be a bit more grass on the wicket just because of where we are but overall I think the wicket looks an absolute belter.
“If I was the captain of the one-day team here, I wouldn’t want to win the toss because I wouldn’t know what to do, just because of how good the wicket looks (for batting).
“Playing with two seamers and still having two spinners gives us a good mixture. When you’re a little bit unsure about what it could do as the Test match goes on, I’m confident with the team we’ve gone for.”
PA contributed to this report
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