ENG vs IND 2022: James Anderson returns as England announce XI for Edgbaston Test against India

England have announced their playing XI for the rescheduled fifth Test against India, which starts on Friday, July 1, at Edgbaston in Birmingham. A fit-again James Anderson has returned to the side at the expense of Jamie Overton.

The 171-Test veteran missed the third Test against New Zealand last week owing to an ankle injury. While Overton has made a good impression with his pace and also struck a belligerent 97 with the bat, he has been omitted from the XI that took the field in Leeds.

Wicket-keeper batter Sam Billings has also retained his spot in the playing XI, despite Ben Foakes' recovery from COVID-19. Foakes had tested positive midway through the Leeds Test, forcing the hosts to draft Billings in as a COVID-19 substitute.

England XI for the Edgbaston Test: Alex Lees, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Sam Billings (wk), Matthew Potts, Stuart Broad, Jack Leach, James Anderson

England trail India 1-2 in the 5-Test series

The Indian men's cricket team arrived in England for a five-match Test series that was to follow the inaugural World Test Championship final in 2021.

The series was placed 2-1 in the visitors' favor before a COVID-19 outbreak in their camp forced the final Test to be postponed.

The contest was then rescheduled to be played in Birmingham. While Joe Root and Virat Kohli led the two teams last year, neither is at the helm of affairs anymore.

Ben Stokes' captaincy tenure has got off to a terrific start with a 3-0 drubbing of reigning World Test champions New Zealand. The Indian team continue to sweat on the availability of skipper Rohit Sharma, who has tested positive for COVID-19 himself.