Ben Stokes Makes a Comeback to England Test Squad After Recovering from the Hamstring Injury

England Cricket Board has announced a 15-member squad for the Test series against Zimbabwe. England Test team will play a one-off Test against Zimbabwe before welcoming India for a five-match Test series. Full-time skipper Ben Stokes will lead the series after making a comeback from the hamstring injury sustained last year.

Ben Stokes sustained the injury while playing in the 2023-25 World Test Championship cycle against New Zealand. His inclusion in the Test squad is vital as many of the experienced seamers are currently unavailable.

There are some new inclusions in the squad as well. Sam Cook and Jordan Cox, the two Essex boys, are also included in the side for the first time. Their consistency in the County Championship has earned them a spot in the final 15.

Sam Cook’s inclusion in the squad is courtesy of some very strong performances on the domestic level. The right-arm pacer has taken 318 first-class wickets, with an impressive average of 19.77. He was equally impressive for England Lions against Australia A this year, taking 13 wickets.

Jordan Cox is another new name to be added to the English squad, thanks to an excellent domestic season with the bat. The 24-year-old is among the top run scorers in the County Championship this season, scoring 918 runs from 11 matches that include four centuries and two half-centuries.

Wicket-keeping batsman Jamie Smith and pacer Josh Tongue make a comeback to the Test squad after missing the previous ones.

England has had a dismal year so far, including the poor performance in the 2025 Champions Trophy. They are looking forward to an exciting and cricket-packed English summer to make amends for their horrible display in the past 12 months.

England squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue.