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Essex batter Jordan Cox and Hampshire fast bowler Sonny Baker will make their England Test debuts in the second Test against New Zealand starting on Wednesday at The Oval.
Surrey bowler Matthew Fisher will also play his second Test, more than four years after his first, while Jofra Archer returns for the first time this summer amid the chaos caused by injuries and the incident involving Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson in a London nightclub last week.
There could be a fifth change from the first Test with Somerset’s James Rew, who would be a third debutant in the XI, on standby to replace wicketkeeper Jamie Smith.
Smith’s partner is due to give birth to their second child in the coming days, but the Surrey player was named in England’s XI by coach Brendon McCullum on Monday.
Stokes and Atkinson were both left out of England’s squad pending an investigation, after the pair broke the England team’s midnight curfew and were present when a member of security staff was struck by a Saracens rugby player.
Bowler Ollie Robinson, who took seven wickets on a remarkable return to Test cricket at Lord’s, is out with soreness in his right knee, while Baker comes in for Shoaib Bashir, with England opting against picking a spinner in their XI.
England XI for second Test: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root (capt), Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Jordan Cox, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Matthew Fisher, Sonny Baker
Cox’s Test debut is long-awaited. He would have played in New Zealand in 2024 but broke his thumb in the build-up.
He missed the start of the English season because of the Indian Premier League – Rew was England’s spare batter and wicketkeeper for the first Test – but scored 204 from 201 balls for Essex against Leicestershire over the weekend.
McCullum said Cox had been preferred at number seven in Stokes’ absence because of his “power and his rounded game”, while Rew is viewed as a top-six batter.
A Test debut for Baker, a bustling bowler who can operate close to 90mph, comes after difficult 50-over and T20 international debuts last year.
He returned figures of 0-76 and 0-52 respectively, but has taken 22 wickets in six County Championship matches this season.
“I think the country is going to be behind him because he plays games a little bit like Mark Wood,” McCullum said.
“He’s got good air speed, he swings the ball, he’s got great skills, but he charges in and he’s got wild celebrations and you can just see that cricket is what he wants to do.”
Fisher, who plays for Surrey at The Oval and provides a new-ball option in Robinson’s absence, played one Test in West Indies in 2022 – the last series of Joe Root’s captaincy before Stokes and McCullum took over.
McCullum admitted there has been “a bit of chaos” around the squad but said he was confident in the side picked.
“I look at that line-up we have this week and it’s super exciting,” he said.
“It doesn’t guarantee us success but it’s a first real test of where we’re at. I’m quietly confident we’re going to see some exciting cricket.”
Brook said Root right choice as captain – McCullum
McCullum also gave his view on why Joe Root has been named interim captain for the second Test, rather than vice-captain Harry Brook, calling it a “collaborative” decision.
He revealed Brook had told him Root was the “right person to do it”.
Brook was punched by a bouncer outside a nightclub in Wellington in October on the eve of a one-day international against New Zealand.
“It became pretty obvious that after talking to both Joe and Harry, that Joe was the right person to do it,” McCullum said.
“He’s actually excited, because while he gave it everything he could last time around, he feels he’s in a much better place now to be able to do that job.
“He made mention to me that he feels Harry Brook’s got arguably one of the best tactical brains that he’s seen, so he’ll be leaning heavily on Harry when it comes to the tactic.
“[Brook] said he would have done the job, but Joe was the right person to do it.
“He said ‘I’ll give him everything I possibly can to help him’, and he knows that he’s a good tactician, but he knows he’s not the finished product as a leader just yet, and he also acknowledged that he’s he’s not lived up to those standards in the past.
“He knows he’s got some work to do here as well, but fundamentally we’re very happy with Joe in charge with Harry being able to assist him.”
England trained for the first time since their victory in the first Test – and the Stokes-Atkinson incident – on Sunday. McCullum said he was encouraged by the atmosphere within the group.
“I was intrigued to see how the team was and I was quite happy to be honest,” McCullum said. “There was a calm.
“Guys were still talking about last week, they touched on what had happened after.
“As a group they started communicating about what we need to do this week and how we are going to adapt to these conditions
“Joe spoke brilliantly as well. We know how calm a personality he is. his relationship with Harry is going to give us a nice layer of leadership as well.
“We are grateful for those guys stepping up in this situation.”
