3 reasons why England must play Matthew Potts in 3rd Test vs West Indies
England beat the West Indies by 241 runs in the second Test of the three-match bilateral series being played between the two teams at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Sunday, July 21.
The hosts have now taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series and will face up against the visitors in the final match at Edgbaston, Birmingham starting on Friday, July 26.
England will be keen on bringing in seamer Matthew Potts for this match and give some of their other seamers a bit of a break.
With James Anderson having retired, this will be the best time to give Potts a go, although the latter has already played in six Tests.
In this listicle, we take a look at three reasons why England must play Potts in the 3rd Test:
#1 To give Chris Woakes some rest
One of the main reasons why Potts should be brought in by England for the third Test is to give their seamer Chris Woakes a bit of a rest.
The Warwickshire man has played in both the Tests against the Windies this summer and might do well to get some time off.
With the home series against Sri Lanka starting in August later this year, Woakes will be a key asset for England, and they must give him a bit of rest as per their workload management program.
#2 He can add some variety to the attack
Potts is a seamer who can get the ball to move around in the air as well as extract lateral movement from the pitch.
This will help English skipper Ben Stokes provide some variety in the attack. England will also want to test Potts given that James Anderson has now retired and left a gaping hole in the side.
With the youngster being keen on delivering the goods while extracting steep bounce from a back of a length, the West Indies better be aware of him and not take him lightly at all.
#3 He is in fine form in county cricket
What works for Potts in the selectors' minds is the fact that he is in excellent form in county cricket coming into this series.
The Durham seamer picked up 4-71, 2-38, 4-29, 0-51 and 0-25 in the last five innings that he bowled in the County Championship and will be bursting with confidence.
Although he has already played in six Tests so far, the selectors need to make sure that they give him the opportunity to test his wares and use him when he is in a good vein of form.
It is a tried-and-tested formula that when you select someone based on current form, they are more or less likely to deliver.