England have included two debutants in their Test squad for their upcoming series against World Test Championship finalists New Zealand, which starts on June 2nd.
James Bracey is one of those that could make his Test debut vs New Zealand at age 24. (Source: The Cricketer).
There had already been rumblings about possible absentees for this short series, as the ECB announced on Saturday that any players that featured in the shortened IPL were likely to be rested. The squad announced is listed below:
Joe Root (Yorkshire): Captain
James Anderson (Lancashire)
James Bracey (Gloucestershire)
Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)
Rory Burns (Surrey)
Zak Crawley (Kent)
Ben Foakes (Surrey)
Dan Lawrence (Essex)
Jack Leach (Somerset)
Craig Overton (Somerset)
Ollie Pope (Surrey)
Ollie Robinson (Sussex)
Dom Sibley (Warwickshire)
Olly Stone (Warwickshire)
Mark Wood (Durham)
The two new players are wicket-keeper batsman James Bracey and pace bowler Ollie Robinson, whose names have been mentioned more than a few times around the County Championship circuit for possible England selection. Bracey has so far averaged 53 for Gloucestershire, including a ton against neighbours Somerset, whilst Robinson has taken 29 wickets at an impressive average of 14.
Ollie Robinson has been on song for Sussex at age 27. (Source: Sky Sports).
Having been around the bio-secure bubbles over the winter without being named in the squad, both players are known to the England set-up. Head Coach Chris Silverwood stated the youngsters deserved their call-ups: "They have been consistent performers in the County Championship this season and over the past 18 months"
"They are both resilient characters and have demonstrated to me, the captain and coaches that they have the desire, temperament and the ability to continually improve to give themselves every chance of succeeding on the international stage." (ECB)
Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes are still resting following their quarantine period, whilst Ben Stokes (finger) and Jofra Archer (elbow) were not considered for contention.
Ben Foakes and his jet black keeping gloves look like they will be making their first Test appearance in England, whilst another chance is handed to Craig Overton, who has not appeared for the national side since the final 2019 Ashes Test in Manchester.
Ben Foakes' glove choice was not the only thing to raise eyebrows in his three matches for England in India, as his keeping talent was visible for all to see. (Source: Saikat Das/Sportzpics for BCCI).
Some have already been critical of the squad before it was even released; The Guardian's Barney Ronay mocked the recent hyping up of Craig Overton, describing him as just "a decent, kind-of big guy who runs in", whilst "no one is as good as James Anderson". In the same interview with The Grade Cricketer, he questioned England's tactics going into the summer, asking why the selectors were "faffing around and picking fringe players" instead of nailing on a side that looks very uncertain for the Ashes in the winter.
Admittedly, this seems to have some weight to it. Two Tests at the beginning of the summer, when England have not played Test cricket since March, against the number one side in the world should be seen as an immeasurably great experience to really nail down a side that is already short of experience playing with each other in the last year due to England's rest and rotation policy. Instead, picking six players with 19 Test caps between them seems like poor preparation for tough Test series' against India and Australia later in the year.
The omission of Jofra Archer is perhaps most worrying, as the express-pace bowler continues to complain of right elbow soreness. The ECB have revealed he will meet with a medical consultant later in the week to discuss his options going forward. Chris Silverwood stated that "we need to get this [Archer's injury] resolved once and for all to give him the best chance of being fully fit as we build up to an intense winter...we need him firing in all formats". Perhaps the X-factor in an away Ashes series, Archer's fitness is so key to this England team going forward.
England's home Test series against New Zealand will start on the 2nd June, with the second match beginning on the 10th June on Sky Sports.
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