Eng vs NZ - Jordan Cox, Sonny Baker to debut for England in second New Zealand Test

England will hand debuts to Jordan Cox and Sonny Baker in a rejigged XI for the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval on Wednesday. Jofra Archer and Matt Fisher will also come into the side, with England forced into making at least four changes to the team that won at Lord’s through a combination of injury and disciplinary issues.

Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were stood down after breaking team protocols while celebrating the 115-run victory in the first Test, with Joe Root named as interim captain in Stokes’ absence. Ollie Robinson was on Sunday ruled out with a knee problem, while Shoaib Bashir misses out after his offspin was not required at Lord’s.

England could include a third debutant in James Rew, with the Somerset wicketkeeper-batter in line to take the gloves from Jamie Smith if the latter goes on paternity leave, with the birth of his second child imminent.

Cox was not part of England’s squad for the first Test after spending the first two months of the season as an unused member of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru squad that won the IPL. But he has since leapfrogged Rew thanks to a County Championship double-hundred for Essex, and will fill the unusual role of a specialist batter at No. 7.

“James Rew was our back-up batter in the squad, but that was very much to cover the top-six role,” Brendon McCullum, England’s head coach, said on Monday. “Jordan Cox, he obviously was over at the IPL. We wanted to see him come back and see what he could do before we thrust him into that role for the first time.

“He scored a double-hundred, which is a pretty compelling case. We think that his power and his rounded game is quite a nice fit at No. 7. We still very much see James Rew as an exciting option for us – and he may even get the nod this week, too – but Coxy’s a fine player. He’s been on our radar for a long time across all formats.”

Cox was due to make his Test debut on a tour to New Zealand in late 2024 – which Smith missed for the birth of his first child – but was struck on the thumb in the nets and ruled out. He told ESPNcricinfo last month that he felt like he’d “been on the cusp for three years” but will finally get his chance at The Oval this week.

Baker, 23, has only played 12 County Championship matches for Hampshire but has long been on England’s radar, to the extent that he made his first-class debut for England Lions on the 2024-25 tour of Australia. He struggled on his ODI and T20I debuts last year but received a ringing endorsement from McCullum, who predicted that “the country is going to get behind him” if he starts well.

“I genuinely believe that if Sonny’s able to get some early success – if he’s able to get an early wicket in a spell or in his second spell – I think the crowd’s going to get behind him,” McCullum said. “I think the country is going to be behind him, because he plays games a little bit like Mark Wood.

“He’s got good air-speed, he swings the ball, he’s got great skills. But he charges in and he’s got wild celebrations, and you can just see that cricket is what he wants to do. I’m excited to see how he goes and he is very well-planned and very well-prepared, which fits in with what we’re trying to achieve now in this team with some of the shifts we’ve made.”

England’s four-man seamer attack have won only 29 previous Test caps between them, with Fisher returning to play his second Test more than four years after his debut. McCullum said that this week would be the first “real test” of England’s attempts to rebuild their fast-bowling depth since the retirements of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

“We knew we wanted to build a battery of fast bowlers,” McCullum said. “I look at that line-up we have this week and it’s super exciting. It doesn’t guarantee us success, but it’s a first real test of where we’re at. I’m quietly confident we’re going to see some exciting cricket.”

New Zealand are yet to confirm their team for the second Test, though will make at least one change after Kane Williamson’s abrupt retirement. Rachin Ravindra hinted on Monday that he expects to remain at No. 4, meaning that either Henry Nicholls or Will Young is likely to replace Williamson at No. 3. Matt Henry had a long bowl on Saturday after back spasms at Lord’s.

England XI for second Test: 1 Emilio Gay, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Joe Root (capt), 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jamie Smith (wk)*, 7 Jordan Cox, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Josh Tongue, 10 Matt Fisher, 11 Sonny Baker
*James Rew to replace Smith if unavailable on paternity leave.

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