England have replaced seamer Chris Woakes with fellow right-armer Craig Overton for this week’s fourth Ashes series Test at Old Trafford in Manchester.

Overton was a late addition to the squad after the veteran James Anderson was ruled out of the series due to a calf injury and has been preferred for the XI ahead of all-rounder Sam Curran.

Captain Joe Root, too, has confirmed batsman Jason Roy will move to the middle order and the steely Joe Denly promoted to the top.

Roy has struggled to convert a fine run of form at limited-overs level into success in Test match cricket. Denly, meanwhile, struck a solid century in last week’s third Test at Headingley in Leeds.

‘You look at someone like Jason coming in lower down and the ability to play in his manner, a little bit more freely when it’s not doing as much might give him a better chance,’ said Root.

‘I thought the way Joe Denly handled day three in Leeds, the way he played, if he can harness that and take that into this week, he’ll have a really good chance of being successful at the top. As I said, I think we’ve got the right players and it’s just about getting them in the right places.’

The five-match series is currently locked at 1-1. Australia won the first fixture at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The second at Lord’s in London was drawn while England triumphed in the Leeds Test.

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