Gus Atkinson and Ollie Pope have been selected in the 16-player squad for the three-match Test tour of New Zealand, scheduled for November and December. Jamie Smith will miss the tour as he takes paternity leave for the birth of his first child.
The Test series will begin at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, on Thursday, 28 November, with the following matches to be played in Wellington and Hamilton respectively.
The squad includes one change from the recent series in Pakistan, with Warwickshire’s batting all-rounder Jacob Bethell called up for his first inclusion in a Test squad. The 20-year-old, an attacking left-handed batter and slow left-arm orthodox bowler, made his England white-ball debut this summer in both IT20 and ODI formats against Australia. Bethell is currently with the England white-ball squad in the Caribbean and, along with Rehan Ahmed and Jordan Cox, will join the Test team following their commitments against the West Indies.
England Men’s Test Squad:
Ben Stokes (Durham) Captain
Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire)
Gus Atkinson (Surrey)
Shoaib Bashir (Somerset)
Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire)
Harry Brook (Yorkshire)
Brydon Carse (Durham)
Jordan Cox (Essex)
Zak Crawley (Kent)
Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)
Jack Leach (Somerset)
Ollie Pope (Surrey)
Matthew Potts (Durham)
Joe Root (Yorkshire)
Olly Stone (Nottinghamshire)
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
England Men’s Test Tour of New Zealand Schedule:
(All times are local, NZST)
Two-day warm-up: New Zealand Cricket XI v England XI, 23-24 November 2024, Sir John Davies Oval, Queenstown (11.00am start)
1st Test: New Zealand v England, 28 November-2 December 2024, Hagley Oval, Christchurch (11.00am start)
2nd Test: New Zealand v England, 6-10 December 2024, Basin Reserve, Wellington (11.00am start)
3rd Test: New Zealand v England, 14-18 December 2024, Seddon Park, Hamilton (11.00am start)
