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Uncapped youngster Jacob Bethell will debut against New Zealand as England announced their playing eleven for the first Test match in Christchurch.
Bethell secured his place in the playing eleven on the back of some strong recent form during the white-ball series against Australia and West Indies and will bat at number 3 on debut at Hagley Oval. While Bethell is relatively inexperienced in the red ball format and has never made a first-class century, the 21-year-old did finish as England's second-leading run-scorer during the 2022 edition of the ICC Men's Under 19 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies with 205 runs at an average of 34.16. https://x.com/englandcricket/status/1861175533549072616 With regular keeper Jamie Smith on paternity leave and backup Jordan Cox recovering from an injury, England named Ollie Pope for the role behind the stumps. All-rounder Ben Stokes will lead the Three Lions against the Kiwis in the first Test, with Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse making up the pace attack and the trio joined by spinner Shoaib Bashir in a strong bowling line-up. Even though England are out of contention for the upcoming World Test Championship Final at Lord's, New Zealand can still sneak into the one-off Test decider with a 3-0 series whitewash against the Englishmen. The first Test will kick off on Friday, with the series then moving to Wellington and Hamilton for the final two Tests. England Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (WK), Ben Stokes (C), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir. (ANI)
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