Sports Bulletin Report
LONDON: England Men's selection panel have named a 15-man squad for the two-match Test tour of New Zealand starting in February, as Seamers Stuart Broad, Matthew Potts and Essex batter Dan Lawrence returned back in the Test squad.
Nottinghamshire quick Olly Stone, who last played for England in June 2021 against New Zealand, will be looking to add to his three Test caps.
Durham fast bowler Mark Wood, who was impressive in the recent 3-0 victory over Pakistan, will take a break from all international and franchise cricket in January to fully recover after a busy winter in all formats. He is expected to tour Bangladesh in March, where England will play three ODIS and three IT20s.
Leg spinner Rehan Ahmed, as part of his management for this winter, will go to the UAE T20 League in January with a view to joining up with the white-ball team in Bangladesh if selected in March.
Yorkshire and England batter Joe Root will play a handful of matches in the UAE T20 League ahead of the tour to New Zealand. He will then have a short break before joining up with the Test team. We believe this is the best way to enhance his game ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India in the autumn of 2023.
Those players involved in the ODI series in South Africa – Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Olly Stone and Will Jacks, who is playing in the South Africa T20 League - will fly directly to join the squad in New Zealand following the conclusion of that series.
England Men's Test squad:
Ben Stokes (Durham-Captain), James Anderson (Lancashire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Will Jacks (Surrey), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Matthew Potts (Durham), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Olly Stone (Nottinghamshire)
England Men's Test Tour of New Zealand Schedule: (All timings are local)
Two-day warm-up (red-ball): NZ XI v England, 8-9 February, Seddon Park, Hamilton (11am start)
Two-day warm-up (pink-ball): NZ XI v England 10-11 February, Seddon Park, Hamilton (2pm start)
First Test (pink ball): New Zealand v England, 16-20 February, Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui (2pm start)
Second Test: New Zealand v England, 24-28 February, Basin Reserve, Wellington (11am start)
