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ToggleThe right-arm pacer, Matthew Potts, has marked his return in the Test eleven for the third and final game of the series in New Zealand for England, who have already sealed the series by a 2-0 margin. The veteran pacer, Chris Woakes, who was part of the first two contests, has been given a break.
The Durham pacer has notched up 31 wickets in the longest format since his debut in 2022, with 14 wickets excelling in his first three encounters. The first five games of his tenure came under Ben Stokes’ captaincy. However, he didn’t get many chances for England with the return of Ollie Robinson.
The 26-year-old had just one Test in 2023 under his belt, besides getting two more this summer, as the England selectors opted out for the Leicestershire left-arm seamer Josh Hull. His solitary appearance in Multan against Pakistan saw him toiling hard for match figures of 3/85 in 31.2 overs.
Matthew Potts replaces Chris Woakes in England’s only change for Hamilton
With the visitors already 2-0 up in the series and no qualification for World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 to consider, Stokes decided to have a look at Potts in their 17th and final red-ball clash of the year.
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“It’s another opportunity to look at one of the fast bowlers we see playing a big role going forward. Two-nil up, you put yourself in an easier position to make the change.” Stokes painted the solitary change in the side.
“Pottsy’s got a massive engine on him. He can go all day, and bowl a lot of overs, but not just that, he’s a very skillful bowler, which he’s got better at by being here, working with Jimmy (Anderson) on a few things here and there. He’s someone who is another versatile bowler, you can use him with the new ball, the short-ball plan that we go to because he’s so fit.” The England captain smashed in a statement.
All eyes will also be on the middle-order young batter, Harry Brook, who has earned the number one spot in the ICC Test batter ranking, going past the former captain and the leading run-getter of the country in the five-day format with 349 runs in three innings at an average of 116.33 shouldering on a couple of centuries.
Joe Root nailed a century in the second innings of the previous Test at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, and he will aim to celebrate another big score to regain his top spot in the next week.
Stokes praised Woakes’ output on his tour. The 35-year-old has taken six wickets at 29.16, moving the kookaburra ball to be the leader of the attack. His overseas average of 51 coming into the winter has reduced a bit to 48.93.
“Chris Woakes came into the winter tours with a bit of scrutiny behind his away record, but I think what he has done over the winter has proved a lot of people wrong. He’s been fantastic, he was great in Pakistan and pretty influential over here.” The England Test captain expressed in the press conference.
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This is positive news for England, who will be hoping to get the Warwickshire veteran as their main weapon for the 2025-26 Ashes in the winter for their trip to Australia. The pressure is on their opener, Zak Crawley, who has faced a significant amount of criticism with 26 runs in four innings, as his career average is on the tip of 30.
England Playing XI For 3rd Hamilton Test vs New Zealand
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (wk.), Ben Stokes (c), Matthew Potts, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir.