'Rest and get ready to charge in from the Jimmy Anderson End at Old Trafford' - Ben Stokes confirms James Anderson's participation for fourth Test

England have made the tough decision of dropping an under-fire James Anderson for the must-win Headingley Test against Australia. While Mark Wood replaces the veteran pacer in the starting eleven for the decisive third Ashes Test, Stokes revealed that Anderson's omission was pre-planned to manage the workload of the 40-year-old. 

Ben Stokes-led England have made three changes for their must-win third Test against Australia after ending up on the losing side in the first two matches. While Moeen Ali returns to the side after recovering from the finger injury that saw him miss the Lord's Test, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood have also been drafted into the squad. 

Clarifying the omission of James Anderson, who endured a tough couple of outings in the series, Stokes stated that the veteran pacer was going to be taking part in the fourth match. Anderson was dropped from the starting eleven to manage his workload as he was not expected to play all five matches of the series. 

“It's great to have Woody fit. He’s firing and really ready to go this week and I’m looking forward to seeing him get going. We were very open and honest and clear with each other before the series started that it's going to be very tough to ask the bowlers to play every game this summer.

It's a good chance for Jimmy to rest up and then get ready to charge in from the Jimmy Anderson End at Old Trafford next week," Stokes was quoted as saying by The Mirror ahead of the Headingley Test.

That last week sort of took it out of me a little bit: Stokes

Instead of naming a specialist batter to replace the injured Ollie Pope in the starting eleven, England went with seam all-rounder Chris Woakes for the third Test. While Harry Brook is expected to move up the batting order, Stokes revealed that the inclusion of Woakes will ease his bowling workload.

"I'm not gonna lie: that last week sort of took it out of me a little bit. So a big part of what I had to think of is what would be the best team if I wasn't to bowl a ball in this game in the worst-case scenario? That doesn't mean I'm not going to bowl but that was a huge part of the thinking about the team that we picked," added Stokes.