England will give rookie seamer Josh Hull his first taste of international cricket after including him in the team for the final test of the summer.
Chasing a rare clean sweep of six wins in a row, England has thrown the left-armer in to face Sri Lanka at The Oval in place of Matthew Potts.
The 20-year-old Hull has taken only 16 first-class wickets in 10 matches. But England has made a habit of gambling on young talent since head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes took charge.
“It's a great week for him to come in, learn a little bit and show off exactly what he can do,” said Ollie Pope, who this week completes a three-game run as stand-in skipper for the injured Stokes.
“Why not get him in? This is a great opportunity for him, you can show exactly what you can do in the international stage.”
England has already clinched the three-match series against Sri Lanka 2-0 after wins in Manchester and at Lord's.
That backed up a 3-0 victory over the West Indies in July and England is now just one victory away from completing a clean sweep of home test series in a summer for the first time since 2004.
The quest for that victory starts Friday.
England: Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Olly Stone, Josh Hull, Shoaib Bashir.
Published - September 04, 2024 09:51 pm IST
