England announced their lineup for the series opener against New Zealand in Christchurch on Tuesday, and Jacob Bethell will bat at number three in his Test debut.
In his Test debut, Jacob Bethell will bat at number three. England announced their lineup for the series opener against New Zealand in Christchurch on Tuesday. During a net practice, wicketkeeper Jordan Cox broke his right thumb, forcing the 21-year-old into the starting lineup for the game starting Thursday. With captain Ben Stokes at number seven in the batting order, regular number three Ollie Pope takes Cox’s place in the gloves and bats down at number six.
Only two months ago, Bethell made his debut for his country in white ball matches against Australia and the West Indies. He has never batted higher than number four in first-class cricket, where he averages 25.44.
Despite scoring 262 when batting third in the first Test in Pakistan last month, Joe Root remains at number four.
On a Hagley Oval field that typically gives a greenish wicket favoring the seamers, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, and all-rounder Stokes make up the pace attack. The only spinner is Shoaib Bashir.
Kane Williamson, the top batsman, has returned after missing the recent 3-0 Test series victory in India due to injury, but New Zealand has not yet announced their starting lineup.
England’s players include Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes (capt.), Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, and Zak Crawley.
New Zealand: Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Nathan Smith, Tim Southee, Kane Williamson, Will Young, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (captain), and Tom Blundell.
