England keep faith with keeper for Old TraffordBatting order in need of finalising in unchanged squad
England will look to pump Jonny Bairstow’s tyres up before next week’s fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford after keeping faith with the under-fire wicketkeeper in an unchanged squad.
Bairstow’s role behind the stumps has come under increasing scrutiny during this impossibly tight series, with three dropped catches in the three-wicket win over Australia at Headingley furthering fears that the dual role is too great a burden so soon after last year’s broken leg. But having clawed the scoreline back to a 2-1 deficit with two to play, Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have opted to work on Bairstow’s confidence in the lead-up rather than send for Surrey’s Ben Foakes. The question now, as England try to set up a grand finale at the Oval, is who bats where and which seamer comes into the attack.
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