Jordan Cox out injured as James Rew earns maiden call-up for Zimbabwe Test

Uncapped pacer Sam Cook has been called up to the England squad for the Zimbabwe Test. He has been one of the strongest performers in County Cricket with 318 wickets at an average of 19.77. He also picked 13 wickets across three fixtures for the England Lions against Australia A. Meanwhile, Josh Tongue has been recalled to the side as well.

An impressive harvest of 14 wickets in the County Championship has paved the way for Tongue into the squad. He has not played for England since the 2023 Test at Lord’s in the Ashes. It means England begin a high-profile year of red-ball cricket, including marquee series against India and Australia, with a new-look pace attack. They have played only one home Test without at least one of Chris Woakes, James Anderson or Stuart Broad in their XI since 2007.

The batting section appears to be largely untouched from their previous Test assignment against New Zealand with Zak Crawley in particular, still being backed by the management despite having failed to cross fifty in his last 5 Tests. As has been the case in the BazBall era, his stratospheric ceiling is being kept in mind, in all likelihood.

The Test is scheduled to be played at Trent Bridge in Nottingham from May 21 to 25 and will be the first Test against Zimbabwe on English soil since 2003.