Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope have been retained in England’s 13-member squad for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe later this month, while an uncapped Essex duo has also earned a call-up.
England have persisted with Zak Crawley as their opener despite his disastrous New Zealand tour, where he averaged just 8.66 across six innings, with a top score of 21. His struggles have continued in the County Championship, with his latest outing at Lord’s seeing him dismissed for 6 on the first morning of Kent’s fixture. Durham’s Ben McKinney was a potential alternative but has been overlooked.
Another incumbent under scrutiny is Ollie Pope, England’s vice-captain, who has also retained his place. Despite a modest career average of 34.02, Pope remains in the squad.
Two uncapped Essex cricketers have also been picked. One of them is Sam Cook, who took seven wickets in the opening round of the Championship, bringing his first-class tally to 302 dismissals at an average of 18.49. Earlier this year, he impressed with the Kookaburra ball on the Lions tour of Australia. With Chris Woakes and Mark Wood absent due to injuries, Cook’s path to a Test debut now looks clearer.
The other call-up is Cook’s Essex teammate and wicketkeeper Jordan Cox, who rejoins the squad after a finger injury denied him a Test debut during the New Zealand tour. Cox was originally set to keep wicket when Jamie Smith was on paternity leave, but a broken right thumb ruled him out. This marks his third Test squad call-up.
England squad for Zimbabwe Test
Ben Stokes (c), Ollie Pope, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue
More to follow...
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
