Potts to make England Test debut vs New Zealand

Durham seamer Matthew Potts will make his England Test debut against New Zealand at Lord’s on Thursday, live on Sky Sports.

Stuart Broad and James Anderson are also recalled as England look to make a winning start under head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.

Zak Crawley and Alex Lees are retained as openers as Ollie Pope returns to the side and is handed a promotion to No 3, while Joe Root is back at his preferred spot of No 4.

Jonny Bairstow, meanwhile, is up to No 5 following Stokes’ decision to drop himself down a position to No 6. Wicketkeeper Ben Foakes completes the top seven.

Potts is the leading County Championship wicket-taker this season, with 35 scalps at an average of 18.57 across his opening six games.

He is included ahead of Craig Overton, with Harry Brook the other player in the 13-man squad to miss out.

Anderson, 39, and Broad, 35, were dropped for the recent tour of the West Indies but return at the first time of asking under the new coach and captain.

England are without a host of pace bowlers due to injury, with Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, Olly Stone, Saqib Mahmood and Matt Fisher among those sidelined.

England XI for first LV= Insurance Test versus New Zealand

1. Zak Crawley (Kent)
2. Alex Lees (Durham)
3. Ollie Pope (Surrey)
4. Joe Root (Yorkshire)
5. Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire)
6. Ben Stokes (Durham) captain
7. Ben Foakes (Surrey) wicketkeeper
8. Matthew Potts (Durham)
9. Jack Leach (Somerset)
10. Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)
11. James Anderson (Lancashire)

Atherton: McCullum, Stokes effect could inspire immediate uplift

With only one debutant in his first Test team, former England captain Michael Atherton told Sky Sports it is understandable McCullum does not want to “rip it all up” right away.

“He [McCullum] doesn’t really know enough about English cricket yet,” Atherton said.

“It will take him a while to get his feet under the table, to get a sense of the players who are around the squad right now and also those who are waiting in the wings.

“You wouldn’t expect to see dramatic changes initially, but there might be a bit more clarity of direction from the top.

“Obviously you’d expect an England side led by Stokes and McCullum to play a certain way, and usually when there’s a change of management – captain, coach, whatever – teams get an initial, automatic uplift in terms of performance.”

On the style of play fans can expect under the new partnership driving England’s Test team, Atherton added: “I think everybody’s hoping England can play smart, effective and, ultimately, winning cricket.

“There will be times when you need to take the game on, put your foot down and go after the opposition, and there will be times when you’re on the back foot a little bit and have to grind it out, tough it out.

“McCullum was a brilliant cricketer, and he was of a type – on the aggressive side, both as a captain and a player – but he was also somebody who could play the long game as well.

“He was a very smart and effective cricketer, and I think that’s what he will be hoping for from his team above all.”

Watch England take on New Zealand in the first Test, from Lord’s, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 10am on Thursday.