Jacob Bethell will continue at number three after England announced an unchanged XI for the second Test against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve.
The victory in Christchurch by eight wickets was completed by a maiden half-century from Bethel. The 21-year-old debutant hit an unbeaten 50 off 37 deliveries as England chased an innings total of 104 in 12.4 overs.
Bethell’s first innings at Hagley Oval (10 for 34) marked the first time a Warwickshire batsman had gone above fourth in a sample size of just 20 first-class matches. England management deliberated a change, particularly with Durham wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson after he was drafted in to replace the injured Jordan Cox, but decided to stay in the same team.
This means Ollie Pope will continue to occupy the sixth spot. England’s vice-captain was moved from his usual position at the first drop to focus on maintaining his duties. It will be his fifth Test as a designated wicket-keeper, all of which have been overseas.
Pope wants to stay in the top three after scoring a crucial 77 runs in the first innings at No 6, and reiterated that Jamie Smith is expected to return to the position he has held consistently throughout Ben Stokes’ tenure. XI. Pope was solid throughout the first game, had a few catches and overall looked comfortable in the role.
“I always say when the keeper is out of sight he has done some good things and Ollie has certainly done that,” Chris Woakes said in Wellington on Wednesday. “He did a great job last week in a role he hasn’t played much in.
“Obviously he has gone on to feature for England, but for him to step up and do what he did at such short notice was fantastic. For him to score goals shows his character and does it for the team without any fuss.” To come up in sixth place and give us such a good score and contribute to such a big partnership was huge.”
Stokes will retain his place and continue as an all-rounder at No. 7 after injuring his back in the first Test, which forced him to stop his overs midway through the fourth and final morning.
Woakes also supported Zak Crawley, turning his form around against New Zealand, who were bowled out for one after a duck in the first Test. The opener recorded a dismal average of 9.88 over 17 innings against the Black Caps, who now emerge as a bogey team for the Kent batsmen.
“A lot of times these statistics that come out are thought to be purely coincidental,” Woakes said. “I don’t think it has anything to do with it. New Zealand have some very good opening bowlers. He faces the new ball when it’s freshest and best, so there’s probably some good balls out there.
“We have seen the quality of Zak. Opening the batting is a difficult thing to do so there will be instances of low scores. We have seen what Zak can do. When he goes in he is one of the worst bowlers in international cricket. “I’m sure the batsmen will change.”
uk: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ollie Pope (wk), 7 Ben Stokes (capt), 8 Chris Works, 9 years old Gus Atkinson, age 10 Bryden Cass, age 11 Shoaib Bashir
