Root on Overton: "He has good control, good skills and moves the ball off the straight so I expect him to cause some issues for the Aussie batters"
Tuesday 3 September 2019 18:57, UK
Craig Overton will replace Chris Woakes in the only change to England's side for the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford.
Somerset seamer Overton has played three Tests for England, two in the 2017/18 Ashes in Australia and one in New Zealand in March of last year.
The 25-year-old dismissed Steve Smith - who will return to the Australia side in Manchester following a concussion - on his Test bow in Adelaide.
On the decision to play Overton, England captain Joe Root said: "[Old Trafford] does perform slightly differently - that extra bit of bounce for a taller bowler gives us a slightly different option to go to.
"I feel like that balances our attack out really well in these conditions
"Craig is a competitor. You saw him come into Ashes cricket and straightaway on debut looked very much at home.
"He got himself in a battle and I expect him to do just that this week. He has good control, good skills and moves the ball off the straight so I expect him to cause some issues for the Aussie batters."
Overton has taken seven wickets in his three Tests to date, at an average of 42.28, while he top-scored with an unbeaten 33 when England were skittled for 58 by New Zealand in Auckland.
The paceman was drafted into England's squad when it was announced James Anderson would miss the rest of the series with a calf injury.
England have also made one change to their batting order - Joe Denly will open with Rory Burns, with Jason Roy moving down to No 4.
"Jason is a high-quality player, we all know that, and he might be better suited at four," Root said.
"To play in an Ashes series is very exciting and he was extremely excited to get the chance to open the batting but I think that he might be better suited for the middle order on the evidence we have seen.
"It's a great opportunity for him to make it his own and we have seen him play enough international cricket to know what he can do when he gets himself in so hopefully batting lower down allows him to do that.
"Joe [Denly] has played some good cricket throughout the summer, he has got himself in and he was very good in that second innings [at Headingley]. It's a great opportunity for him to get us off to a good start."
Root's side are level at 1-1 with Australia with two Tests to play following Ben Stokes' match-winning century at Headingley.
Watch day one of the fourth Ashes Test live on Sky Sports The Ashes and Sky Sports Main Event from 10am on Wednesday.
You can also follow over-by-over commentary and in-play clips on our rolling blog on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.
