England Cricket Board (ECB) made four changes for the third and final Test of the series against New Zealand. After missing second Test of the series due to nightclub incident, skipper Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson have returned to the side. As many as four changes feature in the England side which will take the field at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
All changes in the lineup
Jamie Smith has returned after missing the second Test due to birth of his second child. He has replaced James Rew who registered scores of 24 and 15 on Test debut. Cox is sitting out after scoring 27 and 25 on his Test debut. Pacer Matthew Fisher has made way for Atkinson. Fisher had taken five wickets in the Test. Sonny Baker who claimed three wickets on Test debut has been dropped as well. England have opted to bring in off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in his place. Bashir did not bowl a single over in the Lord’s Test in pace-friendly conditions.
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England’s playing XI for 3rd Test vs New Zealand
Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Ben Stokes (c), Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.
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Huge setback for England
England did not just lose the second Test at Kennington Oval, London. Their win at Lord’s under Stokes’ leadership was nullified too as they faced 12-point deduction penalty for maintaining slow over rate as Root captained England in second Test. England have managed to acquire just 38 points from 12 Tests and their win percentage has dropped down to 26.39. Placed at the seventh spot in WTC standings, their chances of making it to their maiden WTC final look even bleaker.
Even if Stokes-led England win their remaining matches in the current WTC cycle, they won’t be guaranteed a spot in the final as it will depend on results of other teams’ games.
New Zealand’s Test squad vs England
Tom Latham (c), Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell(w), Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, William ORourke, Matt Henry, Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Blair Tickner, Dean Foxcroft, Zakary Foulkes.