England suffered another blow to their Ashes campaign on Wednesday with pace spearhead Jofra Archer ruled out for the remainder of the series due to a side strain, while batsman Ollie Pope was dropped for the fourth Test against Australia. Archer has been England’s standout bowler across the first three Tests, shouldering a heavy workload of 80 overs and taking nine wickets.
He will be replaced by Gus Atkinson, who will lead the pace attack alongside Josh Tongue, Brydon Carse and captain Ben Stokes. Will Jacks keeps his place as the frontline spin option. The setback compounds England’s problems as they head into the Melbourne Test starting Friday, already trailing the series 3–0 and playing for pride. They are also without express quick Mark Wood, who managed only 11 overs on tour before a knee injury ended his campaign. Pope paid the price for a run of poor form at number three, with Jacob Bethell coming into the side as the only other change. Opener Ben Duckett retained his spot despite off-field speculation following an unverified video circulating between the second and third Tests. England XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith, Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue.
