Broad returns to England squad for NZ tour, Rehan not considered

Mark Wood, who struggled to be fit during the Pakistan series, has not been included as he has not yet recovered from his hip injury.

FILE PHOTO: Stuart Broad celebrates after taking the wicket of Marco Jansen at Lord’s cricket ground in London on August 19, 2022. | Photo Credit: AP

Stuart Broad has been recalled as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced a 15-member squad for the two-Test tour of New Zealand in February 2023. Mark Wood, who struggled to be fit during the Pakistan series, has not been included as he has not yet recovered from his hip injury.

Besides Broad, pacers Matthew Potts and Essex batter Dan Lawrence also made a comeback to the squad. However, young spinner Rehan Ahmed has not been considered. ECB said, “As part of his management for this winter, he will go to the UAE T20 League in January with a view to joining up with the white-ball team in Bangladesh if selected in March.”

Harry Brook, who scored two back-to-back centuries in England’s recent tour of Pakistan, has also been named in the squad. On Friday, he fetched a massive Rs 13.25 crore IPL deal with SunRisers Hyderabad.

Brook, Ben Duckett and Olly Stone will directly fly to New Zealand from South Africa, where they will play the SA T20 League, to join the squad.

England Test squad for the New Zealand series: 

Ben Stokes (Captain), James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Will Jacks, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Olly Stone

England’s New Zealand tour itinerary:

Two-day warm-up (red-ball): NZ XI v England, 8-9 February, Seddon Park, Hamilton

Two-day warm-up (pink-ball): NZ XI v England 10-11 February, Seddon Park, Hamilton

First Test (Pink Ball): New Zealand v England, 16-20 February, Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui

Second Test: New Zealand v England, 24-28 February, Basin Reserve, Wellington