Ben Stokes reveals who England 'wanted' to play instead of Josh Tongue in second Ashes Test

In a surprising move, England have opted to include rookie seamer Josh Tongue in his maiden Ashes Test against Australia, raising doubts about the readiness of spinner Moeen Ali and paceman Mark Wood.

Tongue, who made an impressive debut against Ireland earlier this month, claiming five wickets, will replace Moeen in a four-man seam attack at Lord's, marking a pivotal moment in the 25-year-old's career. Although Moeen showed signs of recovery after a burst blister hindered his ability to bowl effectively during the series opener at Edgbaston, concerns of a recurrence persisted.

England captain Ben Stokes expressed his desire to unleash Wood, renowned as one of the fastest bowlers in the world, to invigorate the attack. However, the Durham paceman has not played red-ball cricket since December, and there were apprehensions about his match readiness over a grueling five-day Test.

Explaining the decision, Stokes said: "With how Mo's finger was last week – it's actually recovered really well – but we just thought we would get more out of our fourth bowler being Josh Tongue this week."

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He added: "We wanted to play Mark Wood. We felt that he could definitely start the game, but with conversations we felt the extra week of build-up and getting his loads up would give him a better chance and an opportunity to play a full part from Leeds onwards."

Stokes commended Tongue for his versatility and expressed confidence in his ability to thrive in a fourth seamer role, alongside the experienced trio of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Ollie Robinson.

Recalling Tongue's performance against Ireland, Stokes revealed: "His first spell was just running up