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England cricket team have predictably made a massive change after their comprehensive 336-run loss in the second Test against India at Edgbaston in Birmingham last week. Ben Stokes-led side have dropped pacer Josh Tongue and brought back Jofra Archer to their playing 11 for the third Test vs India beginning at Lord’s in London on Thursday. Archer is returning to Test side after a gap of more than 4 years. The England Cricket Board (ECB) have been wary about pushing Archer back into red-ball cricket after adding him to the squad ahead of the second Test. The 30-year-old Sussex pacer played the last of his 13 Tests against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in 2021. The Rajasthan Royals pacer had only bowled 5 overs in that match and picked up one wicket.   One change for Lords 🔁 After a four year wait... Jofra returns to Test Cricket 😍 — England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 9 2025 Jofra Archer has only played in 13 Tests so far Archer made his Test debut in the Ashes series in 2019 but has only played in 13 Tests till date due to various fitness and injury related issues. The Barbados-born pacer has claimed 42 wickets at an average of 31.04 but his addition to the team will add much need firepower to the pace bowling which England have been lacking in the absence of Mark Wood. He was bought for Rs 12.5 crore by Sanju Samson’s Rajasthan Royals team at the IPL 2025 mega auction. RR team director Kumar Sangakkara had revealed on air during the second Test that Archer had pulled up well during the season after a lacklustre opening match against Sunrisers Hyderabad where Ishan Kishan took him apart. Former England pacer James Anderson had called for Archer’s early return to the Playing 11 as well. “He’s played one game for Sussex he was around the team at Edgbaston and bowled a bit. I just feel like you’ve got to play him. It’s too crucial a game not to” Anderson had said on the BBC’s Tailenders Podcast. Archer had claimed 11 wickets in 12 matches for RR in the IPL 2025 season. The Rajasthan Royals failed to qualify for the Playoffs and ended up in 9th position. England opt not to rush back Gus Atkinson The England cricket team have opted not to rush back all-rounder Gus Atkinson into the side after he was added to the squad for the third Test. Atkinson enjoys a brilliant record at Lord’s having scored a hundred and claimed a 10-wicket match haul at the venue as well. Atkinson played the last of his 12 Tests for England in May this year against Zimbabwe. He failed to make it to the team for the Test series against India as he was recovering from a hamstring problem sustained in the Zimbabwe game which also forced him to miss the ODIs against West Indies. The five-match Test series between India and England for the ‘Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy’ is level at 1-1 with the hosts winning the first Test at Leeds and India bouncing back with a win at Birmingham. England playing 11 vs India for 3rd Test: Zak Crawley ⁠Ben Duckett ⁠Ollie Pope ⁠Joe Root ⁠Harry Brook ⁠Ben Stokes (C) ⁠Jamie Smith (WK) ⁠Chris Woakes ⁠Brydon Carse ⁠Jofra Archer ⁠Shoaib Bashir