England have recalled Matthew Potts for the third and final Test against Recent Zealand, with Chris Woakes making way.
The tourists have already secured the Crowe-Thorpe Trophy with big wins in Christchurch and Wellington and have taken the prospect to rotate the seamers at Hamilton’s Seddon Park.
Potts, who won the last of his nine Test caps against Pakistan in October, is anticipated to take over Woakes’ new-ball role.
He enjoyed significant success against the Black Caps in 2022, his first summer as an England international, taking 14 wickets in three Tests including star batter Kane Williamson on three occasions.
Now 26, he will probably be hoping for similarly positive results as he looks to nail down his place in an increasingly competitive pack of pace bowling options.
One other Opportunity
“We’re looking forward to giving Pottsy a possibility to see what he can do that week,” said captain Ben Stokes.
“He’s got a large engine on him. He can go all day and bowl plenty of overs but not only that, he’s a really skilful bowler.
“He’s a flexible bowler, you should utilize him with the brand new ball and the short-ball plan that we go to because he’s so fit. He can bowl you 20 overs someday, then rock up again and bowl you one other 20.”
Had the series been alive there’s a powerful likelihood that Woakes would have held his spot, an indication of how well he has fought to revive a touring profession many thought had come to an end.
The Warwickshire all-rounder has long been frustrated by the disparity between his imperious statistics at home and a few unimpressive numbers on the road, but ends the yr in credit, with eight wickets at 35.63 in his three overseas outings.
It stays to be seen whether he has a job to play in next yr’s Ashes trip, still almost a yr away and in conditions where he has previously struggled to make an impact, but Stokes believes he has proved a degree.
Woakes’ Form
“You may take a look at it like that, yeah,” he said.
“Woakesy got here into the winter tours with a little bit of scrutiny behind his away record but I feel what he has done has proved plenty of people flawed. He’s been implausible for us, he was great in Pakistan and pretty influential over here too.
“At 2-0 up, you set yourself in a neater position to make that change and we would like to be giving opportunities and experience to the blokes who don’t all the time get that.”
Stokes also paid his own tribute to retiring Tim Southee, who will retire from international cricket this week.
Home captain Tom Latham stopped wanting guaranteeing the veteran can be on the teamsheet when play gets under way at 10pm GMT on Friday, however the indisputable fact that the Pavilion End has been temporarily renamed in his honour this week, suggests his home crowd will get the prospect to say farewell.
“Tim has been an incredible servant to Recent Zealand cricket. He’s done some great things out on the sphere and he’s Recent Zealand’s leading wicket-taker across all formats,” he said.
“I’ll all the time remember he’s someone who keeps coming at you, particularly with the ball, and he could be an absolute nightmare to bowl to.”
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