England Stats
England Playing XI: Predicted Lineup and Batting Order
England v South Africa, Thu 17 Dec, 08:00: the last XI stands until the toss confirms one
Updated 9 September 2026, after the Pakistan game
Zak Crawley
Batter, batted 1
17 31 balls
2
Ben Duckett
Keeper, batted 2
69 79 balls
3
Jacob Bethell
All-rounder, batted 3
164 288 balls
4
Joe Root
Batter, batted 4
166 279 balls
5
Harry Brook
Batter, batted 5
126 145 balls
6
Ben Stokes
All-rounder, batted 6
1 16 balls
7
Jamie Smith
Keeper, batted 7
72 117 balls
8
Will Jacks
Batter, batted 8
27 64 balls
9
Brydon Carse
Bowler, batted 9
17 26 balls
10
Matty Potts
All-rounder, batted 10
19* 59 balls
11
Josh Tongue
Bowler, batted 11
6 16 balls
Last Test: Australia won by 5 wickets, 3 Jan 2026. The scorecard →
England Batting Order
Who batted where over the last 29 Tests, and the runs there
| Position | Inns | Avg | SR | Also |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Zak Crawley | 21 | 55.4 | 71.1 | A. Lees (3), H. Hameed (3) |
| 2Ben Duckett | 20 | 70.6 | 88.2 | Z. Crawley (6), H. Hameed (1) |
| 3Ollie Pope | 15 | 56.5 | 72.2 | J. Bethell (5), D. Malan (5) |
| 4Joe Root | 25 | 71.8 | 60.3 | D. Lawrence (3), B. Duckett (1) |
| 5Harry Brook | 16 | 117.4 | 92.8 | B. Stokes (8), J. Bairstow (5) |
| 6Ben Stokes | 17 | 42.3 | 53.9 | O. Pope (6), J. Bairstow (5) |
| 7Ben Foakes | 11 | 44.5 | 47.6 | J. Smith (7), J. Buttler (4) |
| 8Chris Woakes | 8 | 38.1 | 53.3 | W. Jacks (5), G. Atkinson (4) |
| 9Ollie Edward Robinson | 7 | 29.6 | 59.7 | B. Carse (5), M. Wood (4) |
| 10Jack Leach | 9 | 20.0 | 35.5 | M. Wood (4), B. Carse (4) |
| 11James Anderson | 10 | 5.3 | 41.6 | S. Bashir (6), J. Leach (4) |
Inns is how often each batted there. A player who did not bat is left out.
England Selections
Every player England picked in the last 29 Tests, the most first
| Player | XI | Bats | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Root | 29/29 | 4 | XI |
| Ben Stokes | 28/29 | 6 | XI |
| Zak Crawley | 27/29 | 1 | XI |
| Ollie Pope | 25/29 | 3 | - |
| Ben Duckett | 21/29 | 2 | XI |
| Harry Brook | 16/29 | 5 | XI |
| Jack Leach | 15/29 | 10 | - |
| Ben Foakes | 11/29 | 7 | - |
| Mark Wood | 11/29 | 9 | - |
| James Anderson | 11/29 | 11 | - |
| Jonny Bairstow | 10/29 | 5 | - |
| Brydon Carse | 10/29 | 9 | XI |
| Ollie Edward Robinson | 10/29 | 9 | - |
| Chris Woakes | 9/29 | 8 | - |
| Shoaib Bashir | 9/29 | 11 | - |
| Jamie Smith | 8/29 | 7 | XI |
| Gus Atkinson | 8/29 | 9 | - |
| Will Jacks | 6/29 | 8 | XI |
| Rehan Ahmed | 6/29 | 8 | - |
| Jacob Bethell | 5/29 | 3 | XI |
| Dawid Malan | 5/29 | 3 | - |
| Tom Hartley | 5/29 | 9 | - |
| Matty Potts | 5/29 | 10 | XI |
| Stuart Broad | 5/29 | 10 | - |
| Haseeb Hameed | 4/29 | 1 | - |
| Jos Buttler | 4/29 | 7 | - |
| Alex Lees | 3/29 | 1 | - |
| Rory Burns | 3/29 | 1 | - |
| Daniel Lawrence | 3/29 | 4 | - |
| Jofra Archer | 3/29 | 10 | - |
| Josh Tongue | 3/29 | 11 | XI |
| Craig Overton | 2/29 | 9 | - |
| Saqib Mahmood | 2/29 | 11 | - |
| Liam Livingstone | 1/29 | 7 | - |
| Sam Billings | 1/29 | 7 | - |
| Matthew Fisher | 1/29 | 9 | - |
| Keaton Jennings | 1/29 | - | - |
England Test Lineups Questions
What is England's predicted XI against South Africa?
Until the toss, England's last XI stands as the predicted one, from 3 Jan 2026 against Australia: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Jamie Smith, Will Jacks, Brydon Carse, Matty Potts, Josh Tongue.
Who opens the batting for England?
Over the last 29 Tests, Zak Crawley batted at one 21 times and Ben Duckett at two 20 times.
Who bats at three for England?
Ollie Pope, 15 times in the last 29 Tests, then Jacob Bethell (5).
Who has played every Test for England recently?
Joe Root played all of England's last 29 Tests.