England have named an unchanged 14-man squad for the third and final Test against West Indies at Edgbaston from Friday as they look to clinch a 3-0 series sweep.
Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir’s five-wicket haul at Trent Bridge on Sunday bowled England to a 241-run victory on day four of the second Test and into a 2-0 series lead.
The hosts had won the opening Test at Lord’s by an innings and 114 runs as their all-time record wicket-taker James Anderson retired on a high before becoming bowling mentor and fellow seamer Gus Atkinson claimed a 12-wicket match haul on debut.
Mark Wood replaced Anderson in the XI at Trent Bridge and hit a top speed of 97.1mph during a game in which he bowled the fastest over recorded by an England bowler at home.
Wood left the field late on the second day but bowled the following morning and also on day four, when he dismissed West Indies’ Kevin Sinclair with a brute of a short delivery.
However, England may opt to be cautious with a player who has had injury problems in the past.
The uncapped Dillon Pennington as well as Matthew Potts, who made the most recent of his six Test appearances against Ireland last summer, are the spare seamers in the group.
Pennington, 25, operates in the mid-80s in miles per hour and has taken 31 wickets in eight County Championship games for Nottinghamshire this season, at an average of 23.80.
Asked whether Pennington should be handed a debut, Sky Sports pundit and former England seamer Stuart Broad said: “I am not a fan of making changes for the sake of it.
“We need to protect Wood after the pace he has bowled and the heat in the second Test.
“I probably wouldn’t play him at Edgbaston but bring him back against Sri Lanka later in the summer. I would make one change – Pennington for Wood.
“I need to see if Atkinson can go back-to-back-to-back. I need to see him bowl overs and front up physically.”
Watch day one of the third Test between England and West Indies, at Edgbaston, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 10am on Friday July 26 (11am first ball).
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