England will hand a debut to 20-year-old left-arm pace bowler Josh Hull in the third Test against Sri Lanka, which begins at The Oval on Friday.
(bbc.com) Leicestershire paceman Hull replaces Matthew Potts in England’s only change from the team which won the second Test at Lord’s to seal a series win.
Hull was called up for the second Test, in place of the injured Mark Wood, but did not play.
Standing 6ft 7in and capable of bowling at high pace, he is seen by England as somebody who can bring variety to their bowling attack and was also included in the white-ball squad to face Australia later this month.
His first-class record is far from stellar with 16 wickets at an average of almost 63.
He did, however, impress for England Lions in Sri Lanka’s solitary warm-up match of the current tour, when he took 3-30 and 2-44 with the new ball.
England team to face Sri Lanka in third Test:
Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Olly Stone, Josh Hull, Shoaib Bashir.
‘Hull has a high ceiling’
At 20 years and 17 days, Hull will become the third youngest seamer to play a men’s Test for England, after Ben Hollioake and Sam Curran, who were both 19.
Ollie Pope, who is captaining England in this series in the absence of the injured Ben Stokes, believes Hull will add a point of difference in the hosts’ bowling attack.
“I don’t normally face bowlers in the nets, but I was pretty keen because I haven’t faced him yet, to get in there and see what he’s got,” said Pope.
“His ceiling’s so high – he’s obviously 6ft 7in and can swing the ball at a decent pace. He’s raw but he’s got some good skills.
“I’m sure he will be able to go and show what he can do this week.”
Pope goes into the game with a top score of just 17 in the series, and having faced criticism from former England captain Michael Vaughan about his role in the team.
However, the Surrey batter will hope to find form at his home ground this week, where he averages 80.6 in first-class cricket.
“I feel good in the nets,” said Pope, 26. “Last week I got a top edge to a pull shot and got caught at deep point. That is the way cricket can go sometimes.
“I’ll learn from it, but now I’m feeling my normal self. So yeah, hopefully there’s some runs this week.”