England have made sweeping changes to their XI for the second Test of their series against New Zealand, with two debutants confirmed to be in the side.
Essex batter Jordan Cox will make his Test debut alongside Hampshire quick Sonny Baker, in the match which will begin at The Oval on Wednesday (June 17). Matthew Fisher will also come into the XI to play his first Test match in four years, while Jofra Archer will also make his return, with Ollie Robinson ruled out due to soreness in his right knee.
James Rew is also on standby to take over the gloves from Jamie Smith, whose partner is heavily pregnant with their second child. If Smith is unable to take part in the match, England will have made five changes to the team that won the first Test at Lord's. The last time they made as many changes between the first and second Tests of a series was in 1986.
England XI for second Test vs New Zealand: Emilio Gay, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root (c), Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Jordan Cox, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Matt Fisher, Sonny Baker
*James Rew will take over from Jamie Smith and make his Test debut if Smith goes on paternity leave.
The sweeping changes to the XI have been made due to a mixture of players being unavailable through injury and disciplinary issues. Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were made unavailable for selection for the Test after they broke team protocols, staying out after the midnight curfew during their celebrations for the win at Lord's last week. Joe Root will take over as interim captain in Stokes' absence, chosen for the job over vice-captain Harry Brook. Robinson's injury, after he took seven wickets playing his first Test for two years at Lord's, was another blow for England's selection, with fellow Sussex pacer Henry Crocombe added to the squad as cover.
Cox to make long-awaited Test debut following Championship double
Cox's Test debut comes after several false starts. He was set to make his Test debut in New Zealand in 2024, covering for Smith, who, at the time, was on his first stint of paternity leave. However, he broke his finger during training shortly before the match, and Jacob Bethell was called upon instead. He was then named in England's squad to face Zimbabwe last year, but picked up an abdominal injury while playing for Essex in the County Championship.
He wasn't named in England's squad for the first Test, having spent the first half of the county season sitting on the bench for RCB in the IPL. However, playing his first fixture in the Championship for a year in the latest round, he hit a rapid double-century to stake his claim to a spot in the XI. England head coach Brendon McCullum confirmed that Cox would bat in the lower-order, a role he felt suited Cox more than Rew, who was named in the squad of 15 for the first Test.
"James Rew was our back-up batter in the squad, but that was very much to cover the top-six role," said Brendon McCullum. "Jordan Cox, he obviously was over at the IPL. We wanted to see him come back and see what he could do before we thrust him into that role for the first time.
"He scored a double-hundred, which is a pretty compelling case. We think that his power and his rounded game is quite a nice fit at No. 7. We still very much see James Rew as an exciting option for us - and he may even get the nod this week, too - but Coxy's a fine player. He's been on our radar for a long time across all formats."
Baker set for debut in new-look pace attack
Three of the four seamers who made up England's winning attack at Lord's are unavailable for the second Test – only Josh Tongue remains in the side among pacers. With Shoaib Bashir also dropping out as part of the effort to rebalance the side in Stokes' absence, Baker will be part of a fiery attack.
Baker has only played 12 County Championship matches in his career so far, but has long been on England's radar, and made his white-ball debuts last year. He has 22 wickets from six matches in the County Championship so far this year, at an average of 24.86.
"He's got good air-speed, he swings the ball, he's got great skills," said McCullum of Baker. "But he charges in and he's got wild celebrations, and you can just see that cricket is what he wants to do. I'm excited to see how he goes and he is very well-planned and very well-prepared, which fits in with what we're trying to achieve now in this team with some of the shifts we've made."
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