UNCAPPED Gloucestershire batsman James Bracey and Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson have been included in England’s 15-man squad for two Tests against New Zealand, which begin on June 2. There is also a recall for Somerset’s Craig Overton, who last played in 2019.
Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow have been left out after only recently returning from the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Ben Stokes (broken finger) and Jofra Archer (elbow injury) are also absent.
Opener Dom Sibley, who has missed recent Warwickshire games with a fractured finger, has been included, as has Rory Burns, who was dropped for the final two Tests in England’s 3-1 series defeat in India over the winter.
Jack Leach is the sole spinner in the squad, with Dom Bess left out, while Ben Foakes is set to keep in England for the first time in Buttler’s absence.
Bracey, 24, was a reserve in the England squad for last summer’s Tests against West Indies and Pakistan and last winter in Sri Lanka and India.
He is a top-order wicketkeeper-batsman and averages 37 in 44 first-class games for Gloucestershire. This season, the left-hander has scored 478 runs in 10 innings, with one century and four fifties. Right-arm pace bowler Robinson, 27, was named in England squads last summer but is yet to feature, and he toured as a reserve last winter.
He has taken 279 first-class wickets at an average of 21.04, and has claimed 29 scalps at 14.72 for Sussex this season, including taking 9-72 in the second innings against Glamorgan in April. Overton has played four Tests, three against Australia, taking nine wickets at an average of 44.77.
England men’s head coach Chris Silverwood said: “James Bracey and Ollie Robinson deserve their call-ups to the Test squad.
“They have been consistent performers in the County Championship this season and, over the past 18 months, have excelled for the Lions on the field and in the various camps they have been involved in.” Silverwood, who is now also responsible for selection following the departure of Ed Smith, said Overton and Robinson are “realistically” competing for one spot, and they are “very difficult to split”. He also said the players involved in the IPL will play some County Championship or Vitality Blast fixtures before returning to the England fold, while Stokes could return for Durham in the Blast. Squad: Joe Root (Yorkshire), James Anderson (Lancashire), James Bracey (Gloucestershire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Rory Burns (Surrey), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Craig Overton (Somerset), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Dom Sibley (Warwickshire), Olly Stone (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham). (BBC Sport)
