ENG vs NZ | Ben Foakes ruled out of New Zealand series; Billings and Hameed added to the squad

Surrey’s Ben Foakes, was in line to make his debut in England, after having made all his appearances away from home thus far in his career. However, the wicketkeeper-batsman has now been ruled out of the series and approximately three weeks of action, after slipping in the dressing room. 

Foakes suffered a tear in his left hamstring, with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirming that the duo of Sam Billings and Haseeb Hameed have been named in the squad. While Billings has never made it to the Test setup, Haseeb was last part of the England squad in 2016, against India, where he made an immediate impression as a teenager. However, since then, injuries and form have halted his career. 

James Bracey, who was picked in the squad as a reserve keeper will play in the first Test against New Zealand, starting June 2. This season, Hameed scored 474 runs at an average of 52.66, which has seen him return to the squad. Billings, on the other hand, has been part of the limited-overs setup for the longest time, with this being his first Test assignment for the Three Lions. 

Squad: Joe Root (Yorkshire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Sam Billings (Kent), James Bracey (Gloucestershire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Rory Burns (Surrey), Zak Crawley (Kent), Haseeb Hameed (Nottinghamshire), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Craig Overton (Somerset), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Dom Sibley (Warwickshire), Olly Stone (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).