England will give debuts to Jordan Cox and Sonny Baker as they reshuffle their side for the second Test against New Zealand, which starts at the Oval on Wednesday, while Matthew Fisher is to make a second appearance, more than four years after his first.
Archer returns, Robinson ruled out
Jofra Archer also returns to the side after missing the first match of the series while he took a break after the conclusion of the Indian Premier League. A third debut is still possible, with James Rew on standby and ready to step in as wicketkeeper should Jamie Smith be unable to play because of the imminent birth of his second child – the 25-year-old missed training on Monday to be with his partner.
Unusual changes after a win
While it is extremely unusual for a winning side to see so many changes, Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were both left out of England’s squad after they broke the team curfew as they celebrated victory in the first match of the series, while Ollie Robinson has been ruled out of this week’s game with a knee injury. Shoaib Bashir, who did not bowl at Lord’s as England took a 1-0 lead in the series, has been dropped to allow the team to play four seamers.
The team will be led by Joe Root, who has been appointed interim captain in Stokes’s absence, more than four years after he chose to relinquish the role. He was given the job over Harry Brook, the team’s vice-captain, who had his own disciplinary issues over the winter. Brendon McCullum, the England coach, said Brook had “admitted Joe was the right person to do it” because “he’s not the finished product as a leader just yet, and he acknowledged that he’s not lived up to those [team] standards in the past.”
“He’s actually excited, because whilst he gave it everything he could last time around, he feels he’s in a much better place now to be able to do that job,” McCullum said of Root. “And in the environment that we’re running, he feels that that suits what he’s trying to achieve as well. He mentioned to me that he feels Harry Brook’s got arguably one of the best tactical brains that he’s seen, so he’ll be leaning heavily on Harry when it comes to the tactics.”
England team for second Test v New Zealand
England XI: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root (capt), Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk)*, Jordan Cox, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Matthew Fisher, Sonny Baker.
*James Rew is on standby to replace Smith if Smith's partner goes into labour.
Cox's long-awaited debut
Cox had been due to make his Test debut in England’s last series against New Zealand, at the end of 2024, only to break his thumb in the nets as the team prepared for the opening game. He was left out of the squad for the first game because his participation in the IPL meant he had not played any first-class cricket this season, but he was picked by Essex in their County Championship match against Leicestershire last week and scored 204 in his only innings. He is likely to take Stokes’s place in the batting order, at No 7.
“Two years ago when Stuart Broad and James Anderson had moved on, we knew we wanted to build a battery of fast bowlers,” McCullum said. “I look at that line-up we have this week and it’s super exciting. It doesn’t guarantee us success but it’s a first real test of where we’re at. I’m quietly confident we’re going to see some exciting cricket.”
