Overton set to resume Ashes battle with Smith

Seamer Craig Overton's inclusion for the fourth Test is based as much on the impression he made in his maiden Ashes campaign as for the distinctive skills he adds to England's bowling attack.

Overton, who played the most recent of his three Tests in the disastrous defeat at Auckland 18 months ago, has been added to England's starting XI for Old Trafford in place of allrounder Chris Woakes.

According to England captain Joe Root, Overton's inclusion came partly because his superior height (196cm) to Woakes (185cm) means he's able to generate greater bounce from the traditionally dry Manchester pitch.

"At this ground it does perform slightly differently," Root said on Tuesday in confirming the only change to the England line-up that won in stunning circumstances at Headingley.

"An extra bit of bounce, so a taller bowler gives us a slightly different option to go to and I feel like that balances our attack really well in these conditions.

"He's got good control, good skills, moves the ball off the straight and I expect him to cause some issues for the Aussie batsmen."

But it's not only with the Dukes-brand ball on familiar pitches that England's selectors know what to expect from the 25-year-old Somerset seamer.

Overton's Test debut in the second Test of the 2017-18 Ashes contest in Australia was notable not so much for the volume of wickets he claimed (4-116 across two innings) but rather the pedigree.

Bowling with the pink Kookaburra ball in the historic first floodlit session of a day-night Ashes Test, Overton's opening delivery of a new spell veered violently in the air and through the usually impenetrable defence of Steve Smith.

In rattling Smith's stumps for 40, as the ball squeezed between angled bat and pad, Overton had successfully removed the then skipper under a score of 140 for the first time in Ashes competition since Australia were humiliated at Trent Bridge in 2015.

The other top-order wicket Overton claimed in his debut Test was the man who succeeded Smith as Australia captain, Tim Paine, who was caught at deep square leg from a miscued pull shot.

The 57 Paine scored in Adelaide remains his highest Ashes score in eight Tests to date, and he is one of seven players in Australia's XII for Old Trafford who was involved in that day-night contest.

"I know he's a very good cricketer," Paine said on Wednesday when asked about Overton's call-up.

"We played him a little bit in the last Ashes series in Australia.

"He's a big, tall boy and extracts a bit of extra bounce so he's certainly a handful when he gets it right.

"Fortunately, a few of us have seen him last time around so we kind of know what to expect.

"I think he'll be a slightly different proposition with the Dukes ball.

"We know we're going to have to be at the best of our game to handle (him)."

Australia have their own battery of tall quicks, which has been further supplemented by the inclusion of left-armer Mitchell Starc in the 12-man squad that will be finalised at Wednesday's coin toss.

In addition to his height, Starc is known to be a dangerous exponent of reverse-swing, which is expected to prove a factor at Old Trafford where the large centre wicket block can quickly scour the ball.

Overton currently sits 16th on the list of division one's leading county wicket-takers for 2019 with 32 at 21.34 from eight matches for Somerset, marginally behind Australia's Peter Siddle (34 at 20.08 from as many games for Essex).

But although he's not played a Test since he spared England an unwanted place in history by slogging 33 not out at number nine when the team was rolled for 58 by New Zealand last year, he brings more than statistical clout to the line-up.

As Root noted in his Test-eve media conference, the aggressive right-armer is not daunted by locking horns with opponents who boast more polish and profile as shown by his initial battle with Smith.

"I think he's a competitor," Root said of the recalled seamer.

"You saw him come into Ashes cricket on debut and straight away he looked very much at home.

"He got himself in a battle, and I expect him to do just that this week."

2019 Qantas Ashes Tour of England

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.

England squad: Joe Root (c), Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Craig Overton, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes (vc), Chris Woakes.

First Test: Australia won by 251 runs at Edgbaston

Second Test: Match drawn at Lord's

Third Test: England won by one wicket at Headingley

Fourth Test: September 4-8, Old Trafford

Fifth Test: September 12-16, The Oval