With England all set to take on New Zealand in the first Test of the upcoming series, the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) came forward and announced Englandโs playing XII for the Lordโs Test. Ben Stokes will be leading the side, with the likes of Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, and many other stars included in the lineup.ย
One of the most notable inclusions in the lineup is that of Emilio Gay, who is all set to make his Test debut. Three players have been cut from the original 15 in the squad that was announced last month, i.e, James Rew, Rehan Ahmed, and Matt Fisher.ย
Speaking of the composition, head coach Brendon McCullum took centre stage and talked about how the weather conditions could play a big role in deciding the final XI that will take on New Zealand at Lordโs. The first Test of the series is all set to kick off on June 4th, and England will hope for a good showing.ย
“We’ll just work out whether we want the extra air speed, if all of a sudden it becomes 35 degrees and flattens out. Or we stick to what’s tried and tested at Lord’s and remain with more of the type of bowlers that’ll extract some movement with some overhead conditions,โ McCullum was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.ย
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McCullum expresses belief in the squad
McCullum also hailed the quality that the squad possesses and expressed confidence in the players that they will be picking in the final XI to take on the Black Caps.ย
“We’re very comfortable with the group that we’ve got. We’re confident in what we’re going to pick. That doesn’t guarantee us anything, but it gives us what we think will allow us the best opportunity against New Zealand at Lord’s. We want to stick to what we think is going to be required in these conditions against this opposition,โ the head coach said ahead of the game.ย
England Test XII: Ben Stokes (capt), Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue
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