Ashley Giles, the England men’s director of cricket, has said that England “may have to look at some new faces” when they take on New Zealand in two Tests next month.
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While the IPL’s postponement opens up the possibility of England fielding the likes of Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes, Giles has said that the returning players from India – who are currently in hotel quarantine – will not be rushed back into action: “With the amount of cricket they’ve got coming up, we’re not going to rush or force them back to cricket.”
A policy of rest-and-rotation is set to continue during a busy year: a five-match Test series with India will follow the New Zealand Tests, and an Ashes tour will close 2021.
Who could those “new faces” be? We’ve had a look at the most likely options:
The new faces
Ollie Robinson
The Sussex quick has begun the season in excellent touch, taking 25 wickets in just four County Championship fixtures. Relentlessly accurate, he took nine wickets in an innings against Glamorgan last month and has been hotly tipped to play Test cricket sooner rather than later and Jofra Archer’s current fitness troubles could open the door for an appearance against New Zealand.
James Bracey
Bracey’s chances of playing against New Zealand could well hinge on the fitness of Dom Sibley, who suffered a broken finger last month. The Gloucestershire left-hander is a top-order option – he keeps wicket too – and has begun the seasons strongly after touring with England over the winter: his 478 Championship runs have been delivered at an average of 53.11 and helped his county side to four wins out of five.
The sort-of new faces
Craig Overton
Another seam-bowling option who has started the season strongly. Overton is the leading wicket-taker in the County Championship with 32 scalps at 13.96, following on from his 30 wickets last year in the Bob Willis Trophy. Test cricket hasn’t gone to plan for him before – he has played four and lost four, with his last appearance against Australia at Old Trafford in 2019. Nonetheless, his domestic form has been sublime over the last couple of years.
Ben Foakes
While he has played in England’s last three Tests, Foakes stands to benefit if Buttler isn’t rushed back in after his return from India. Averaging 40 with the bat in the Championship this year for Surrey, Foakes will make his home Test debut should he feature against New Zealand.
Olly Stone
Stone has impressed with his speed and control in the two Tests he has played – most recently with a match haul of 4-68 in England’s defeat to India at Chennai. An opportunity against New Zealand would offer him the chance to play his first Test at home since his debut against Ireland in 2019.
