Jacob Bethell is set to bat at number three on his Test debut after replacing Jordan Cox as England open their series against New Zealand in Christchurch on Thursday.
The Warwickshire left-hander was called up after wicketkeeper Cox broke his right thumb in the nets during England’s warm-up game.
As such, England’s usual number three, Ollie Pope, will take the role of wicketkeeper and drop down the batting order to number six.
While Bethell has eight ODI caps and seven T20 caps for England, he was a shock choice for the Test squad, but one Joe Root is excited to see.
"The way his game sets up suits Test cricket. I'm really looking forward to watching him go out there and play. It's a really exciting time for him,” Root told BBC Sport.
"I've known him and his family for a long time. I saw him play when he was 11 or 12 years old and I could tell then he was already a very accomplished player.
“It's been really pleasing seeing him grow up, make his way at Warwickshire, then more recently in the white-ball stuff show everyone what a brilliant player he is.
"This is a great opportunity for him, a blank canvas in a position where he can really put influence on the game. He can just go play, enjoy it, and I expect him to do just that."
Root himself will become the fourth Englishman to reach 150 tests at fourth in the order, while Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett will open the batting.
England will hope to overturn poor test form, having lost their last series 2-1 in Pakistan. They have been defeated in three of their previous four Tests.
England XI for first Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (wk), Ben Stokes (c), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir.
All to play for: Sunshine Girls set up decisive fourth England Test after nail-biting one-point win in Kingston to level series at 1-1
Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls set up a decisive fourth and final Test match against England’s Vitality Roses after producing a nail-biting one-goal win over the current World number two to tie the series at 1-1 at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston on Monday.
Entering this game on the back of a 49-49 draw and a 47-55 loss in the first two games of the series at the AO Arena in Manchester, England on November 16 and 17, the Girls were looking for redemption in front of an energetic home crowd.
They used the energy of the vibrant crowd packed into the Sports Centre to jump out to a quick 4-0 lead before the Roses used their physicality to claw their way back into the contest early. The score at the end of the first quarter was 12-10 in favour of the hosts.
England came out firing at the start of quarter number two, however, with three quick goals handing them an early one-point advantage and making it seem like the tide was turning in their favour.
With the home crowd rearing them on, the hosts regained their composure and, through some quick and accurate passing and shooting, re-took the lead at 15-13 with 11 and a half minutes left in the period.
Over the next few minutes, Jamaica continued to build momentum sending the home crowd into a frenzy with a seven to three run to lead 22-16 with six minutes left in the first half.
The two rivals continued to trade buckets fir the rest of the second quarter, with England eventually closing the gap to three points at half-time, the Jamaicans leading 26-23.
The second half started like the first, with the hosts extending the lead to 32-25 within the first five minutes of the period.
England stayed strong, however, and, despite some spectacular defensive plays from Jamaica captain Shamera Sterling-Humphrey throughout the rest of the quarter, the gap between the teams heading into the fourth and final stanza was still only three points with Jamaica up 38-35.
The first five minutes of the fourth quarter saw both teams showing why they are so highly ranked globally, producing timely goals and steals throughout. With 10 minutes to go, Jamaica’s lead was just two at 43-41 and the crowd was getting more pensive by the second.
Action continued back and forth and the nerves began to build even more when England made it a one-point game at 47-46 with three minutes to play.
Jamaica hit back, however, with two quick goals to restore the three-goal lead before England, displaying remarkable resilience, hit back once again with two goals of their own to make it a tied game at 49-49 with 50 seconds to play.
That would prove to be the last time England had the ball in their attacking third, however, as the Sunshine Girls strategically passed the ball around for the remaining time before, with one second left, Shanice Beckford hit what proved to be the game-winner, securing a 50-49 win for the hosts and sending the crowd into wild celebrations.
Beckford finished with 19 goals from 23 attempts while goal shooter Romelda Aiken-George had 30 goals from 34 attempts.
For England, Liv Tchine had 26 goals from 27 attempts while Lois Pearson had 18 goals from 21 attempts.
“I’m super happy for this win. Our fans brought us over the line today and we’re very grateful,” said Sunshine Girls captain Shamera Sterling-Humphrey after the game.
“I think we won the game defensively today. We revisited our game plan after the games in England and came back out strong,” she added.
Jamaica head coach Sasher-Gaye Henry praised the performance and poise from her troops.
“I think they were exceptional. I’m quite excited for them. Thy have grown from the second game,” she said.
“Still we have a lot of rough edges that we need to fix but I must commend them. To beat England is a big thing for us right now,” she added.
England coach Jess Thirlby believes early errors cost her team the game in the end.
“I think we made too many errors at the start of the game. Everything we expected from the Sunshine Girls came at us tonight,” she said.
Despite the loss, Thirlby expressed positivity at the way her team played, especially in the final two quarters.
“We drew that third quarter and won the fourth quarter by two. An outstanding performance and huge credit to the Sunshine Girls. In the moments where they needed to be, they were super smart,” she said.
The decisive fourth game of the series will take place at the same venue on Tuesday starting at 7:00pm Jamaica Time.
West Indies on the brink of series win over Bangladesh
West Indies are on the brink of a 2-0 win in their Test series at home to Bangladesh, needing just three wickets on day five with the tourists requiring 225 runs.
Having reached 269-9 by stumps on Sunday, Bangladesh surprisingly declared overnight while 181 runs behind, leaving Taskin Ahmed to start the day with the ball in hand, rather than the bat.
That decision gave West Indies the chance to rack up another commanding total after they declared at 450 in their first innings, but they could only tag on another 152.
Taskin scalped six in the best bowling display of his red-ball career, while Mehidy Hasan Miraz trapped the hosts' top scorer Alick Athanaze (42) lbw as the Bangladesh bowlers gave their batters a chance.
However, they were not repaid as Miraz's declaration soon started to look ill-advised. Just five balls of Bangladesh's second innings were required for Kemar Roach – who ended the day with figures of 3-20 – to make the breakthrough for West Indies, getting an inside edge off Zakir Hasan (1).
Bangladesh struggled to build any momentum and Roach got two more wickets to leave the tourists 23-4, and while Miraz tried to get things going with 45 off 46 deliveries, he saw a thick edge snapped up by wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva for another crucial wicket.
Jayden Seales joined Roach in scalping three, and though Bangladesh made it to stumps with three wickets intact, they have an almighty task awaiting them on the final day.
Data Debrief: Taskin's efforts in vain?
When Taskin produced his brilliant six-wicket haul, it seemed for a fleeting moment as though Bangladesh's overnight declaration may have been a stroke of inspiration.
Taskin's figures of 6-64 surpassed his previous best red-ball inning figures of 4-37 versus Afghanistan last year, while he has now taken eight wickets altogether in the Antigua Test.
However, when Bangladesh slumped to 23-4 within 13 overs, Miraz was surely regretting his decision not to attempt to bat out Monday's morning session and bring the possibility of a draw into play.
Roach and Seales star as West Indies close in on Antigua Test victory
Kemar Roach and Jayden Seales shared six wickets between them as the West Indies moved within three wickets of victory on the penultimate day of the first Test against Bangladesh at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
Bangladesh, set a target of 334, ended Monday on 109 for 7, still needing 225 runs for an unlikely win. Roach and Seales spearheaded the West Indies bowling effort, exposing Bangladesh’s frail batting lineup and leaving the visitors staring at defeat.
The West Indies had earlier struggled in their second innings, managing only 152 after Taskin Ahmed’s career-best 6 for 64 tore through their lineup. While the home side retained a significant lead, their inability to build on their commanding first-innings total of 450 for 9 left the door slightly ajar for Bangladesh.
Alick Athanaze top-scored for the West Indies in their second innings with a fighting 42, while captain Kraigg Brathwaite contributed 23. Joshua Da Silva (22) and Alzarri Joseph (17) also chipped in with small but valuable runs in a disappointing batting effort.
Bangladesh’s response got off to a disastrous start, with both openers falling cheaply. Zakir Hasan inside-edged Roach onto his stumps, while Mahmudul Hasan Joy edged Seales to third slip. Roach then delivered a superb setup to Shahadat Hossain, getting several deliveries to seam away before unleashing a vicious inswinger that grazed the glove and was caught by Joshua Da Silva.
Shamar Joseph endured a frustrating spell, with Mominul Haque dropped twice in one over—first by Da Silva down the leg side and then by Mikyle Louis at gully. However, Roach struck again to remove Mominul, taking a sharp return catch off a mistimed drive.
Joseph’s bad luck continued when Alick Athanaze dropped Mehidy Hasan Miraz at second slip, and Seales couldn’t hold onto a chance offered by Litton Das. Joseph eventually found success when Litton mistimed a pull and was caught at fine leg for 22, reducing Bangladesh to 59 for 5.
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