England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced the England squad for the first two Tests of the upcoming 3-match series against New Zealand at home. The squad sees the return of veteran pacers James Anderson and Stuart Broad in the England whites.
The duo was dropped for the West Indies tour recently, after the debacle of the Ashes 2021-22 series. But with a combined 1177 wickets in Tests, Broad and Anderson were always likely to return once the ECB named Ben Stokes as the new Test captain and brought in Brendon McCullum as the new Test team head coach.
The first Test at Lord's begins on 2 June, followed by the second at Trent Bridge on 10 June. The series concludes at Headingley.
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Yorkshire batter Harry Brook and Durham seamer Matthew Potts are called up for the first time. Brook has been the standout batsman in Division one of the county championship with 758 runs at an average of 151.60, including three centuries and four half-centuries.
23-year-old Potts has been in impressive form with 35 wickets and four five-wicket hauls, including his most recent return of seven for 40 in Durham's win over Glamorgan.
Ben Foakes has been preferred as the first-choice wicketkeeper in the Tests. England will be missing seven of their preferred fast bowlers due to injury which includes the likes of Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, and Saqib Mahmood, while Sam Curran is taking baby steps back in cricket.
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New managing director of the England Test team, Rob Key said: "This is the start of a new era for our Test team under the stewardship of Ben and Brendon. With a blend of youth and experience, we have selected an exciting squad that can compete with New Zealand We have rewarded players in Harry Brook and Matty Potts who have had outstanding starts to the county season, and they deserve the opportunity to stake a claim at this level. It promises to be a mouth-watering series, and I can't wait for the team to start against a very good New Zealand side. It is a fascinating prospect for everyone connected with the sport in this country.”
The three-match Test series forms part of the ICC World Test Championship. The England team will be looking to climb the rankings after a disappointing start to the second edition of the Championship.
England squad for the New Zealand Test series:
Ben Stokes (C), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes (WK), Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Matthew Potts, Ollie Pope, Joe Root.
(ECB inputs)
