After the ouster of pacer Ollie Robinson, there was a spot in the England squad for the second Test match against New Zealand. Thus, on Monday, England coach Chris Silverwood announced the inclusion of off-spinner, Dom Bess, to the squad for the upcoming Test match at Edgbaston.

As the 27-year-old right-arm quick Ollie Robinson was suspended from all international cricket by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) owing to some racist and sexist tweets by the bowler that he had posted about nine years ago.

Even though Jack Leach is England’s first-choice spinner, Silverwood said Bess would provide cover in case of any injuries as the current COVID protocols make it difficult to bring players into the squad from their counties.

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“If Jack was to feature, we would need back-up for him in terms of concussion replacements and things like that If we are looking at playing a spinner and Jack were to get injured leading into the game, then we will need someone else there as well. It's making sure we cover that,” Silverwood told reporters.

“Are we expecting a spinning wicket? We will see when we get there, but I'm making sure we've got every base covered,” he added.

After the drawn Test match at Lord’s, England will be looking to come back strongly in the second Test match that will be played at Edgbaston slated to begin from June 10.

England will be looking to get their combination right in this series as they are scheduled to play a five-match Test series against the subcontinental giants Team India that recently defeated them on their recent tour of India.

(With Reuters Inputs)