England have selected three possible replacements for injured paceman James Anderson, including former Nottinghamshire fast bowler Mark Footitt, after a 14-man party was named for the Fourth Investec Test at Trent Bridge.

Footitt, now of Derbyshire, who has added 50 first-class wickets this season to his haul of 84 in 2014, will go head-to-head with Yorkshire’s Liam Plunkett and Durham’s Mark Wood ahead of the game that gets underway on Thursday.

Nottinghamshire’s Stuart Broad is selected on his home ground and will go in search of his 300th Test Match wicket whilst leading the attack in the absence of his established new ball partner.

“With James Anderson missing this Test through injury and some concerns over Mark Wood’s workload in the build up to the last Test we felt that bringing in two extra bowlers in Liam Plunkett and Mark Footitt was necessary,” said National Selector James Whitaker.

“The reports on Wood are positive at this stage and we are hopeful he’ll be available for selection on Thursday.

“Congratulations to Liam and Mark Footitt on their selection and on behalf of the selectors I’d like to wish Alastair and Trevor all the very best for the fourth Test. The performance at Edgbaston this week was very encouraging and it is important we build on that next week at Trent Bridge.”

Michael Clarke has given a damning assessment of his own form ahead of the Fourth Investec Ashes Test at Trent Bridge, saying his Australia side are effectively ‘playing with ten players.’

The 34-year-old is averaging less than 19 in the series to date having contributed scores of ten and three at Edgbaston, and he admits that a drop down the order is a possibility.

“The form at number four certainly concerns me,” he said. “We’re playing with ten players. The captain is due to step off the plane and turn up. That’s the plan for the next Test.

“We’ve all got to contribute. We’ve all got to score runs as a batting unit and we’ve got to find a way to take 20 wickets.

“The bowling has been one of our greatest strengths over the last four months. We’ve got to make sure we are scoring runs consistently.

“For me it’s all about preparation. If I’m doing that hard work, then that will give me the self-belief to go out and score runs. That’s been the formula throughout my career.

“England deserve credit. They’ve bowled well to me, got me out early and I haven’t been able to settle. I’ve got to find a way to turn that around in the next Test.

“My record is better at number four,” Clarke added. “But what’s important is what is best for the team. If it’s better to bat at number four for the team, then I’ll go there. If it’s better at number five, I’ll go there.”

Clarke believes his own job, and that of his teammates in the Australia batting order, will be made easier by the absence of James Anderson through injury.

“You don’t wish injury on anybody,” Clarke said. “Jimmy showed his class in the first innings in this game and you don’t want to play against a weaker team.

“But that’s the way it goes. Someone else gets an opportunity for England. I’m sure they will do exceptionally well, but we have to take confidence from that.

“His record at Notts is very good. Maybe that could be like 2005 when Glenn McGrath went down.”

England secured an emphatic three day victory at Edgbaston to go 2-1 ahead in the Investec Ashes series, meaning the hosts could seal the urn at Trent Bridge next week.

Ian Bell and Joe Root eased the hosts to their 121 run target with an unbroken third wicket stand of 73 amid scenes of celebration in the second city.

Australia earlier added 97 runs to their overnight score and posted 265 in their second innings with both Peter Nevill and Mitchell Starc scoring half-centuries.

It was Steven Finn, who had helped himself to a five-fer on the previous evening, that made the vital breakthrough when Nevill was caught behind, to the thinnest of edges by an athletically diving Jos Buttler.

Josh Hazlewood was next to go – plucked one-handed in the slips by Root, off the bowling of Ben Stokes – making the score 245-9.

And Australia’s third morning resistance was ended when Starc, who scored 58 off 108 deliveries, attempted to slap Moeen Ali over extra-cover where substitute fielder Josh Poysden took the catch.

The early wicket of Alistair Cook, bowled by Mitchell Starc for seven, then gave the visitors renewed optimism with the ball.

Adam Lyth then fell to Josh Hazlewood for 12 with 51 runs on the board, only for Bell and Root to go on the counter offensive and finish the game in a hurry.

Bell scored 65 not out, his second half-century of the match after moving up the order to number three. Root’s golden summer continued as he hit the winning runs and finished unbeaten on 38.

James Anderson says England must continue their early momentum following a dominant opening day at Edgbaston in the third Investec Ashes Test.

Anderson completed figures of 6-47 as the visitors were all out for 136 midway through the second afternoon, before closing the day on 133-3 in reply.

“We’re in a good position but there is still a long way to go in this Test,” Anderson said.

“We’ve got to get guys in on that pitch and there is still a bit of movement there.

“We’ve got the quality in our side to get a decent lead and that’s what we’ll be looking to do.

“After losing the toss, we didn’t really know what to expect with the pitch and it moved more than we thought off the seam, and I thought we bowled really well throughout.

“We created pressure, created chances and made the most of some good bowling conditions.”

Australia’s opening batsman Chris Rogers, who scored 52, was quick to praise the England attack whilst admitting the tourists are now behind the game.

“We won the toss, we had first crack at it, but England bowled well and put us under pressure and we didn’t respond and we’ve got to get better at that really,” he said.

“It [the pitch] was quick enough so when it nicked and got the edge it carried.

“They exploited it very well, swung them both ways and hit the right length so all credit to them.

“You think if you bat well enough first innings that come fourth innings it’s going to be very difficult, but we’re behind in the game a little now and we’ve got to catch up.”

James Anderson claimed his career-best Ashes figures as England bowled Australia out for 136 on day one of the Third Investec Test Match at Edgbaston.

Anderson took 6-47, while Nottinghamshire’s Stuart Broad and the recalled Steven Finn claimed two wickets apiece, as the visitors were all out in 37 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat.

England sped to within three runs of their visitors by the close for the loss of three wickets – a brace of dismissals to off-spinner Nathan Lyon having kept Australia in the hunt.

There was drama from the second ball of the match in-front of 25,000 supporters in the second city as Chris Rogers took off for a nervous single and David Warner was slow to respond. Broad expertly threw down the stumps, but the Aussie left-hander was saved by his full length dive.

Rogers quickly gathered composure and went on to score a half-century, but the former Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Middlesex man was powerless to stop the wickets tumbling at the other end.

Anderson trapped Warner lbw and, after a probing but unsuccessful opening spell from Broad, Finn took centre-stage with the prized double scalp of Steven Smith, caught behind, and Michael Clarke, who was clean bowled.

Voges and Rogers added 43 and took the score to 77-3 shortly after the lunch interval, but that was when Anderson began to do serious damage.

Voges nicked off to Jos Buttler attempting to leave, Mitchell Marsh was also caught behind and Peter Nevill, preferred to the now available Brad Haddin, shouldered arms and lost his off-stump.

Mitchell Johnson was caught by Ben Stokes, low down at gully, to complete Anderson’s five-fer. And, although 37-year-old Rogers continued to be England’s nemesis by scoring 52 off 89 balls, he was plumb lbw to Broad, leaving Australia 110-8.

Broad grabbed a second wicket of the innings as Mitchell Starc was caught behind by Buttler, before Lyon played on as Anderson snared his sixth of the innings.

England’s reply lost Adam Lyth early to a flat-footed drive at Josh Hazlewood but, batting in his new position of number three, hometown hero Ian Bell batted fluently in partnership with Alistair Cook as the pair took the score to 76.

Cook was unlucky to be caught by a none-the-wiser Voges at short-leg having laced one out of the middle of the bat. Bell became Lyon’s second dismissal of the day, caught at midwicket shortly after posting a half-century, leaving Joe Root unbeaten on 30 at the close.