England Cricket Team.(Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
Pacer Matthew Potts replaced veteran Chris Woakes in the England squad for the third Test against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton. The Durham pacer made his Test debut against the BlackCaps in 2022 and clinched 14 wickets in the series. He was expected to retain his place but with Ollie Robinson’s return, his chances were limited. The 26-year-old featured in only one Test in 2023 and in 2024, he played a couple of games against Sri Lanka before Josh Hull replaced him.
Now, with England 2-0 up in the series, the team management wanted to try other options, keeping the Australia tour in mind next year. For the same reason, Potts made his way back into the playing XI. He is likely to take up the new ball in the absence of Woakes and speaking on the new development, captain Ben Stokes stated that it is another opportunity for the team to groom the other pacers available for selection.
“It’s another opportunity to look at one of the fast bowlers that we see playing a big role going forward. Two-nil up, you obviously put yourself in an easier position to make the change. Pottsy’s got a massive engine on him. He can go all day, bowl a lot of overs, but not just that, he’s a very skilful bowler, which he’s got better at by being here, working with Jimmy [Anderson] on a few things here and there,” Stokes said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
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“He’s someone who is another versatile bowler, you can use him with the new ball, the short-ball plan that we go to because he’s so fit. He can bowl you 20 overs one day, then rock up again and bowl you another 20,” he added.
What Woakes has done over the winter has proved a lot of people wrong: Stokes
Woakes recorded an overseas average of 51 ahead of the Pakistan series. However, he did well in back-to-back series against Pakistan and New Zealand, which helped the average to reduce to 48.93. Captain Stokes has praised him for being ‘pretty influential’ and noted that he was fantastic in the away tours of 2024.
“Chris Woakes came into the winter tours with a bit of scrutiny behind his away record but I think what he has done over the winter has proved a lot of people wrong. He’s been fantastic, he was great in Pakistan and pretty influential over here,” Stokes said.