For the two-match series against New Zealand that will be contested in February 2023, Stuart Broad, Matthew Potts, and Dan Lawrence have been called up to the England men’s Test squad. Ben Stokes will serve as the captain of the 15-player team, which the ECB announced on Friday.
Lawrence, meanwhile, has returned to the lineup for the first time since last March’s Caribbean tour. His energetic batting performances during that tour, such as scores of 91 and 41 in Barbados, were early signs of the team’s future. In 2022, he saw a decline in performance for Essex, which was exacerbated by two hamstring injuries.
Potts made an impression with his efforts throughout the English summer, but after Ollie Robinson’s comeback, he was benched.
His inclusion in the team for the trip to Pakistan was denied. After England’s March earlier this year trip to the West Indies, Lawrence is back in the team. Stone, who last played in June 2021, is also back in the Test squad.
In the recently finished Test series against Pakistan, pacer Mark Wood made a full recovery from his injury. He is now scheduled to take a rest and will be ready for selection for the March tour to Bangladesh.
Rehan Ahmed, a young leg spinner who made his debut in Karachi and picked a fife, will travel to the International League T20 League “in order to join up with Bangladesh’s white ball team,” the Cricket Board announced.
The batting lineup resembles that of the tour of Pakistan, with the team’s core likely consisting of Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, and Ben Stokes. Jonny Bairstow is still out since he hasn’t fully recovered from his injury.
Liam Livingstone, who sustained a knee injury during the Rawalpindi Test, will not be travelling with the rest of the team that toured Pakistan, and unused squad members Jamie Overton and Keaton Jennings are also not included.
After a brief stay at the ILT20, Joe Root will be joining the Test team ahead of the series. Likewise, SA20 players Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Olly Stone, and Will Jacks will go to New Zealand to join the Test team.
Harry Brook, who was a high-priced recruit in the IPL auction this morning, is one of the four team members who will fly immediately from South Africa to New Zealand.
Ben Duckett, Stone, and Will Jacks all participated in the SA20, while Ben Duckett and Stone also played in the three-match white-ball series against South Africa.
On February 16, the first of the two Tests will start at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. It will be a day-night event. The second Test will come after it on February 24 at Wellington’s Basin Reserve.
Prior to the Test series, they will play two two-day exhibition games against a New Zealand XI at Hamilton’s Seddon Park from February 8 to February 11.
England test squad: Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Will Jacks, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Olly Stone