Josh Tongue's wicket-taking ability earns his place in third Ashes Test - Ben Stokes

Josh Tongue will replace Gus Atkinson in England's only change for the third Ashes Test in Adelaide on Wednesday, with Will Jacks picked ahead of Shoaib Bashir even on a pitch expected to be the most spin-friendly they will encounter on this tour.

Brendon McCullum publicly backed England's top seven on Sunday, effectively ruling out the possibility of drafting in Jacob Bethell, while Ben Stokes believes that Tongue has a "natural wicket-taking ability" which will reinforce his seam attack. In Atkinson's absence, Brydon Carse will share the new ball with Jofra Archer.

Tongue, 28, has taken 31 wickets in his first six Tests, one every 44.1 balls, and is a strike bowler whose economy rate is above four runs per over. England believe that the mechanics of his bowling action - delivering the ball with his arm beyond the perpendicular - make him harder for batters to pick up, as Stokes alluded to after training on Monday.

"There's a few angles [to selection] like getting a fresh bowler in for the batters to have a look at," Stokes said. "We feel like what Tonguey possesses - in terms of his angles that he creates at the crease, and his natural wicket-taking ability - is something that we feel is going to help us out this week."

Atkinson has struggled to make an impact in this series: he has taken three wickets in 54 overs, two of which came in Australia's swift run chase at the Gabba in the second Test, and his drop-off in pace has been notable. But Stokes argued that he had been "incredibly unlucky" and that rotation in his seam attack was inevitable.

"It's a huge ask for any seamer to be able to play five games," he said. "Gus has bowled very well out here. He's just been incredibly unlucky, in particular with the new ball; I just don't think he's got the luck that he's deserved.

"With Tonguey, that natural wicket-taking ability that he has is something we feel is useful to be able to turn to. We've seen it in his career so far, that regardless of how things are going in a spell or a day, he'll just get a cluster of wickets, or an important wicket out of nowhere."

Tongue, who has also been preferred to Matthew Potts and Matthew Fisher, took 5 for 151 in his previous Ashes Test, at Lord's in 2023. Those wickets included Steven Smith twice (for 110 and 34), whom Tongue has dismissed in each of the four innings in which he has bowled to him, including a County Championship match in 2023 and in this year's Hundred.

Tongue was England's leading wicket-taker in their series against India last summer with 19, including a second-innings five-wicket haul at The Oval after a wayward effort in the first innings. He has also proved himself to be particularly effective against the tail, and Stokes believes that he will be well-suited to Adelaide Oval.

"I feel like on this surface in Adelaide, that kind of natural attribute is something that you'll probably have to call on at some point, with it being probably one of the truer wickets [in Australia]," Stokes said. "I don't think it's going to have the bounce that we've seen in the first two games… It certainly plays a little bit different to the two other grounds that we played at."

Bashir's omission at a venue where Nathan Lyon is Australia's leading wicket-taker flies in the face of Stokes' suggestion ahead of the second Test in Brisbane that he remains England's "number one spinner". But Jacks' all-round efforts - 60 runs, a wicket, and a stunning catch at long leg - have seen him retained as England's primary spin option.

"It was a tough decision to come to," Stokes said. "I thought the way that Jacksy handled last week in general was really, really good. In both innings, he looked incredibly composed at the crease, and I think when he got into his rhythm with the ball as well, he looked good. We're 2-0 down, and we're trying to give ourselves the best chance with bat and ball.

"I wouldn't say it's got anything to do against Bash whatsoever… We feel having Jacksy down at No. 8 obviously strengthens our batting a little bit deeper, if we need to go there, and he's more than capable enough to handle that role with the ball when we need to call upon it. We find ourselves in that situation where big runs and wickets are important."

Stokes confirmed that Carse will share the new ball with Archer, having operated as a change bowler in eight of his previous 11 Tests. "He's someone who will always get the ball, run in and give everything," he said. "He's not bowled as well as he would have liked to [in Australia] but he still takes wickets… He's just going to run in and give you everything."

Australia are expected to make at least two changes, with Pat Cummins set to return as captain, Nathan Lyon in line for a recall after missing the pink-ball Test in Brisbane, and a decision to make between Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja and Beau Webster for the final batting spot.

England XI:

1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Will Jacks, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Josh Tongue.