England have named an unchanged team for the second Test against India, set to begin on Wednesday at Edgbaston, with fast bowler Jofra Archer remaining sidelined.
The England and Wales Cricket Board retained the lineup that secured a five-wicket win at Headingley to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Archer, who was added to England’s test set-up last week for the first time since 2021, missed training on Monday due to a family emergency, British media reports said.
The 30-year-old was called into the squad following England’s thrilling five-wicket victory in the opening Test at Headingley last week.
He has not played Test cricket since February 2021 and played his first red-ball match in four years in Sussex’s County Championship draw against Durham in Chester-le-Street last week.
Archer is expected to rejoin the squad on Tuesday.
England will look to take a 2-0 series lead over India with victory but the home side have had a mixed bag of results at the Birmingham venue over the last five years.
A defeat by New Zealand in 2021 along with a pair of Ashes losses to Australia in 2019 and 2023 show it could be tough work for England.
ENGLAND XI v INDIA:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/cricket/england-unchanged-for-second-test-against-india-c-19204831
