England announce playing XI for 3rd Test against New Zealand; Chris Woakes misses out
England have named their playing XI for the upcoming third and final Test against New Zealand, scheduled to begin from Saturday, December 14 onwards at Seddon Park in Hamilton. Leading 2-0 in the series, the visitors have named a solitary change to their team, with pacer Matthew Potts coming into the side in place of Chris Woakes.
After playing the entirety of the home summer, and the series opener against Pakistan in Multan, Woakes was dropped for the last two Tests. He returned to the first-team in New Zealand, playing the first two Tests. He took six wickets, including a spell of 3-59 in the second innings of the series opener in Christchurch.
Matthew Potts, who recently extended his central contract to 2026, last featured in the second Test against Pakistan. He bagged three wickets in the contest as England lost by 152 runs.
With not much batting cover available on the bench, Zak Crawley will continue to feature at the top amid scrutiny over his form. The opening batter has struggled since returning from a finger injury, and has recorded only 26 runs in four innings in the ongoing series.
Jacob Bethell will have another chance to impress at No.3 while Ollie Pope will continue to don the gloves in the absence of both Jamie Smith and Jordan Cox. Ben Stokes had sustained a niggle during the second Test, but is fit to feature in the series finale.
England playing XI for third Test against New Zealand
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (WK), Ben Stokes (C), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Shoaib Bashir
"Pottsy's got a massive engine on him" - England captain Ben Stokes
Matthew Potts had made his Test debut against New Zealand at Lord's in 2022, and ran through the opposition with figures of 4-13. Since then, he has been in and out of the team across formats, but is certainly in the scheme of things as England aspire to build a robust pace battery for the Ashes next year.
"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," Stokes said during the pre-match press conference (via ESPN Cricinfo).
"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. 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.
The upcoming Test marks the final assignment for England in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. They are already out of contention for the finals following series losses to India and Pakistan in 2024, coupled with points deduction due to slow over rate.