Edgbaston [UK], July 26 (ANI): Ahead of the third and final Test of the series against England, West Indies have been boosted by the return of Gudakesh Motie, with the spinner declared fit to take his place in the side after missing out on the second Test due to an illness.
Even though the West Indies trail 2-0 in the three-match ICC World Test Championship series, they will be stoked to have Motie back, who has shown tremendous form no matter what format he has played in for a while.
But, Motie’s return to full fitness is soured by an injury to fellow spinner Kevin Sinclair, who has missed out on selection due to a fractured forearm.
Sinclair was struck on the arm by a fast Mark Wood delivery in the second Test and will miss the series finale, while uncapped pacer Akeem Jordan is in contention for his debut after he was called up for fellow quick Jeremiah Louis.
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Despite trailing in the series, West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite knows there is still plenty for his team to play for with World Test Championship points up for grabs.
West Indies have been hunting for their first Test win on English soil since 1988. They will be eager to end their winless streak in the third clash on Friday, even though the series is out of their grasp.
“We have five Tests remaining for the year and, you know, World Test Championship points are still at stake. We have a lot to play for and that’s my thing for the boys,” Brathwaite said as quoted by ICC.
“You know, we are still in the running for the Test Championship and obviously we are looking for points as well.”
The West Indies currently sit in last place on the World Test Championship standings and need to pick up some points in Birmingham to remain in touch with the leading teams.
Also, England announced their playing XI for the final Test. England took an unassailable lead following their thumping 241-run win over the Caribbean side in the second Test in Nottingham.
England will be keen to complete the whitewash and improve their standing in the World Test Championship table.
They moved off the bottom of the WTC standings and kept in touch with the competition. Following the victory, they catapulted past South Africa, Bangladesh and the West Indies into sixth place on the table.
After the conclusion of the series, England will host Sri Lanka for three Tests on home soil at the end of next month. After that, the Three Lions will embark on tours of Pakistan in October and New Zealand in November and December.
After 12 matches, England have 45 points and a percentage of 31.25. The Ben Stokes-led side has won five games, lost six and drawn one.
The West Indies fell to ninth on the standings with a 22.22 percentage following the late fadeout against
England at Trent Bridge and have seven Tests remaining this period against England (one), South Africa (two), Bangladesh (two) and Pakistan (two).
England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir. (ANI)
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