England bolster Test squad with keeper enroute to New Zealand
England's keeping stocks are being severely tested with an uncapped player flying to New Zealand.
England have moved quickly to bolster their squad for their ongoing Test series against New Zealand with uncapped keeper Ollie Robinson flying in to replace the injured Jordan Cox.
Cox fractured his thumb during a warm-up fixture in Queenstown and was subsequently ruled out of the three-match ICC World Test Championship series, with batter Ollie Pope taking the gloves for the first Test in Christchurch with regular keeper Jamie Smith away on paternity leave.
West Indies move off the bottom, while the race is tight for Final spots 👀#WTC25 State of Play 👉 https://t.co/g9QCZ8niWC pic.twitter.com/sbk2nUvaO5
— ICC (@ICC) November 27, 2024
Robinson, who is no relation to the England fast bowler with the same name, will fly to New Zealand and will come into contention for a Test debut as early as the second Test in Wellington that commences on 6 December.
While Robinson is yet to win a debut at Test level, the 25-year-old has impressed in recent times in England's domestic County Championship with a batting average of 48 in 2024 and an even more impressive 58 during the previous season in 2023.
A special day in Christchurch 🥰
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) November 26, 2024
Greeted by a hongi welcome, followed by a cup of tea with the oppo ☕️ pic.twitter.com/biEHdHr62e
He also has a total of 92 dismissals across the two seasons and was due to tour Australia at the start of next year as part of the England Lions team.
England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes