- All three uncapped players start
- No Jamie Smith, Rew to keep wicket
- Ahmed and Robinson back in team
England selected their squad to face New Zealand in the first Test at lord’s starting June 4th. We thought it would be a good idea to pick our team for that first Test.
I have included some stats to justify my selection, so please enjoy and give us your thoughts.
ReadCricket’s England XI to face New Zealand (in batting order)
Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire) – has scored 503 runs at 83.83 so far this season, and his England average is 39.92. Scored 203* against Surrey earlier this month.
Emilio Gay (Durham) – Has 552 runs for Durham this season at 78.85, including back-to-back centuries against Lancashire (159*) and Middlesex (129). Uncapped at this level but looks like he has the temperament to cope.
Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire) – Selected for the squad on previous form as he hasn’t played for Warwickshire so far as he is playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL. But scored 154 against Australia in Sydney on his last outing.
Joe Root (Yorkshire) – Not much to say really, all the time he is still playing, he has to be in the side. He has scored 237 runs in four innings for Yorkshire, averaging 59.25. He has also taken eight wickets at 18.25.
Harry Brook (Yorkshire) – Hasn’t had the best of starts to the season, with only 73 runs scored in three innings for Yorkshire. Averaging 54.79 in Test cricket, he is capable of destroying a bowling attack at any moment.
Ben Stokes (Durham) – Captain of England, but has been dealing with injuries picked up over the winter in Australia. Stokes has picked up five wickets in three innings at 36.6, but it was more about seeing him bowling again.
James Rew (Somerset) – Another of the uncapped players, having played for the Lions. Has scored 478 runs so far this season at an average of 47.80. Opened the batting against Glamorgan but failed, so putting him at seven to keep wicket.
Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire) – This selection might surprise a few people as he has only taken six wickets so far this season at 38.33, but he has only played two games. I feel he is a better frontline spinner than Shoaib Bashir so gets the nod. (Did think about opening up with Ahmed instead of Duckett, but thought that might too left field).
Ollie Robinson (Sussex) – The Sussex captain, recalled to the squad after over a year out. This season, he has taken 18 wickets at 26.27. He has also scored 313 runs in nine innings with an average of 62.6. He also gets the nod over Matthew Fisher for me, because he has taken 16 wickets at Lord’s at 22.94, including 7-101 against New Zealand.
Sonny Baker (Hampshire) – The third and final uncapped player selected. This young fast bowler has taken 19 wickets at 21.68 with two five wicket hauls and a four wicket haul, despite Hampshire being bottom of Division One of the County Championship.
Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire) – Once he was selected to play in the Ashes series, he actually did quite well. He ended the series with 18 wickets at 20.11, England’s second best bowler who only played three tests. So far this season, he has taken 13 wickets at 31.38. He has taken 10 wickets at Lord’s for England as well, five against Ireland and five against Australia.
Honourable mentions
The obvious person I have left out is Jamie Smith. He has scored 450 runs this season, most of which came in three innings. He scored 132 against Warwickshire, and 166 and 89 versus Leicestershire. Since then, he has a grand total of 54 runs in five innings.
The only other person I could have picked was Matthew Fisher. He has more wickets this season than Josh Tongue, taking 15 wickets at 36.8, and he could well start over either Robinson or Tongue.
So there you have it – ReadCricket’s England XI to face New Zealand at Lord’s – who would you pick?
Stay up to date with all the latest international cricket content with ReadCricket and follow us on instagram.
