ENG vs ZIM | England hand Cook long-awaited Test debut while Tongue returns to Test XI

England have named their playing XI for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge two days before the encounter is set to begin, keeping in line with the tradition putin place by head coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes under their tenure. The batting unit features the return of Jamie Smith from injury, taking the place of Jacob Bethell with Ollie Pope slated to give up the gloves and move back to his favoured batting position of number three, and Shoaib Bashir has kept his place as the sole specialist spinner in the side. However, the seam attack in contrast shall boast of only 13 caps when the side take on the field, 11 of which belong to Gus Atkinson and two to Josh Tongue, with Sam Cook lined up for his international debut.  

‌"I'm obviously very excited about getting the nod and getting out there. It's any young cricketer's dream to pull on the Test shirt for England. So it's something hopefully that comes to fruition and I'm really, really looking forward to it," Cook told reporters at Trent Bridge as per ESPN Cricinfo.

Cook rose to national conscience during Essex's domestic double winning campaign in 2019 when the side bagged both the County Championship and T20 Blast, the right-arm quick scalping 32 wickets in the first-class competition at an average of 21. Even though the global pandemic onset by COVID-19 disrupted momentum, Cook returned even better in 2022, registering his first 50-wicket season and then repeating the accomplishment the following season. A 43-wicket campaign to follow in 2024 meant Cook was now the most successful pacer in the County over the last half a decade, yet kept getting overlooked by the seectors owing to a lack of top-end pace. Yet, the retirement of their primary swing bowler James Anderson as well as the unavailability of the next best Chris Woakes has left the door ajar for Cook to finally show his minerals on the Test arena.  

"I think I've been pretty positive. In professional sport, you're going to have setbacks and injuries and that sort of thing, but always having that goal to work towards has made me still driven. I'm probably grateful for it, but it's not something I'd consider to have passed at any point.

"I feel, at 27, a better cricketer for the experiences I've had in the game. I think the Lions programme and being in and around the Test set-up over the last few years has made that transition into the squad pretty seamless, and I felt very welcomed. The environment's been fantastic to be a part of. I'm just excited at the prospect of what's to come and trying to get stuck in and take some wickets," Cook added.

The four-day match against Zimbabwe is meant to be a pre-cursor to the main event five-match Test match-series against India, followed by the Ashes Down Under later in the year. Recurrent injuries to Mark Wood and Jofra Archer, as well as the absence of Anderson and Stuart Broad, have left a huge void in England's seam attack, even though Gus Atkinson has showed potential of carrying the attack with 52 Test scalps already to his name. 

Nevertheless, McCullum remains optimistic, as Josh Tongue also returns to the mix following a spree of injuries that saw him go from five wickets on Ashes debut and all-format hopeful to large stretches of time on the sideline.

"We've made made no secret of us wanting to build a battery of fast bowlers. Knowing that when you're you're dealing at the elite level and you're asking guys to play at 100% and leave it all out there, there's going to be things which happen which means guys are going to miss out.

"For us to walk into this Test match week, I feel like we've got a nice varied attack. It's got some youth, and it's got some inexperience, but these guys have also been around this group now for a decent amount of time, and they know how to operate.

"And they know the messaging from us would be very simple: to go out there and look to try and take wickets, understand how to fulfil your role amongst the varied attack, and try and put pressure on the opposition, and at the same time, try and enjoy it because you are representing your country, and what a great opportunity these guys have got this week," McCullum said to the media.

England XI vs ZIM: Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes (c), Smith (wk), Atkinson, Cook, Bashir, Tongue