Team England have come up with their playing XI for the 2nd ENG vs NZ Test at the Kennington Oval in London, and as expected, there is no skipper Ben Stokes in the side, after yet another nightclub controversy. Not to forget, part of that incident, pacer Gus Atkinson has been sidelined for the match as well, while Joe Root will captain the team.
Both the players are awaiting the outcome of a pending investigation, and it looks likely, that the Stokes-Atkinson duo will miss the third match too. As far as their playing XI for the Kennigton Oval match is concerned, two more changes were made. Jordan Cox and Sonny Baker are set to make Test debuts, while Jofra Archer and Matt Fisher also return.
Meanwhile, the second Test begins on June 17. Fisher comes in as a replacement for Ollie Robinson, who was ruled out due to a sore knee. The latter was brilliant in the first match and had picked up 7 wickets, where the hosts won by 115 runs. But now, with this depleted team, it will be one big task, to continue with the winning momentum.
Graeme Swann defends Ben Stokes
Until now, the ECB has not come up with a punishment for Stokes, but he found some support in ex off-spinner Swann, who feels Ben Stokes was not at fault, and should not be penalised. “My thoughts are very mixed on this. The fact that there’s a curfew put in place is… I’m a former player. You will never, ever convince me that a curfew is a good thing. It’s ridiculous that they even did that in the first place,” Swann told PTI.
Swann went a step further and said that Stokes did not make a mistake at all. “I don’t think Ben Stokes has done anything wrong here, other than go against a rule that shouldn’t have been implemented in the first place.”
England XI for 2nd Test vs New Zealand: Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Sonny Baker, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Matt Fisher, Emilio Gay, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue.
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