{"id":21899,"date":"2026-01-02T13:26:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T11:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jhb-webdevelopers\/channelafrica\/news\/matthew-potts-poised-for-ashes-debut-in-sydney-finale\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:32:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:32:51","slug":"matthew-potts-poised-for-ashes-debut-in-sydney-finale","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/matthew-potts-poised-for-ashes-debut-in-sydney-finale\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew Potts poised for Ashes debut in Sydney finale"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The 24-year-old has been part of the touring party throughout the series but has yet to feature, as England trail 3-1 heading into the concluding match.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Potts\u2019 opportunity comes after Gus Atkinson suffered a hamstring strain during the Boxing Day Test, ruling him out of the series finale. Atkinson\u2019s setback adds to England\u2019s growing injury list, with fellow pacemen Mark Wood and Jofra Archer already sent home after picking up knocks earlier in the campaign.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Durham seamer, who impressed in his early Test outings in 2022, will be tasked with bolstering an England attack that has struggled for consistency against a dominant Australian side. His inclusion is seen as a chance to inject fresh energy into the bowling unit as England look to salvage pride in Sydney.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>England\u2019s pace options have been severely depleted, forcing the selectors to turn to Potts, whose ability to hit a relentless line and length could prove valuable on a traditionally lively SCG pitch. With the Ashes already lost, the final Test offers Potts an opportunity to stake his claim for a regular spot ahead of a busy year of international cricket.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The series has been marred by injuries and missed chances for England, but Potts\u2019 debut could provide a silver lining as the visitors aim to finish on a high note.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;SABC\/ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":21900,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[20],"class_list":["post-21899","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-sport","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"England fast bowler Matthew Potts is set to make his first Ashes appearance after being named in the 12-man squad for the fifth and final Test in Sydney, starting on Sunday. ","published_date":null,"news_description":"","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/21899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/21899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25389,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/21899\/revisions\/25389"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=21899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}