James Bracey

New Zealand went in at lunch at 85/1 in 25 overs against England in the opening session of the first Test at Lord's after debutant Ollie Robinson drew first blood to dismiss Tom Latham on Wednesday.

Gloucestershire wicketkeeper-batsman James Bracey and Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson could be in line for their first England caps after being called up to the Test squad for the first time on Tuesday.

Warwickshire captain Willfred Rhodes will lead a 14-member Select County XI in a three-day warm-up game against India at the Riverside Side ground here from July 20-22, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Thursday.

England on Tuesday rested IPL stars including Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow for the upcoming two-Test series against New Zealand while Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes were not considered for selection due to injuries. Gloucestershire wicketkeeper-batsman James Bracey and Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson have been called up to the Test squad for the first time.

England batsman Ollie Pope is set to undergo a scan on his left shoulder, which he hurt while fielding on day four of the final Test against Pakistan here.

All-rounder Ben Stokes is progressing well from his fractured left index finger and is set to return to action next month for Durham in the Blast competition, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Tuesday.

England's wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Foakes was on Wednesday ruled out of the upcoming two-match Test series against New Zealand after a freak dressing-room accident resulted in a torn hamstring. Haseeb Hameed and the uncapped Sam Billings have been added to England's Test squad for the matches against New Zealand.

Dom Bess was preferred to Moeen Ali and Jack Leach as England named a 13-man squad for its long-awaited return to Test cricket against Windies next week. Bess was confirmed as the team's current number one in the spin department having excelled in training camp. Ben Stokes will deputise as captain, with Joe Root missing out because of the impending birth of his child.

New Zealand accelerated their scoring rate before declaring their second innings at 169/6 at lunch on Sunday, setting England a target of 273 on the final day of the first Test at Lord's.

This will mean that the likes of Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran and Moeen Ali, who are serving a mandatory 10-day quarantine after returning from the currently-suspended IPL, are likely to miss the two Tests against New Zealand, starting June 2.

England batsmen Rory Burns and Dan Lawrence scored battling half-centuries as the hosts recovered from a mid-innings wobble to reach 258-7 against New Zealand on the opening day of the second and final Test on Thursday. Boult (2-60) removed James Bracey with the first ball of his next over to leave England in trouble at 175-6 after they had won the toss and made a solid start with the bat.

England named an unchanged squad for the first match of the three-Test series against Pakistan that begins on August 5 in Manchester, the country's cricket Board (ECB) said on Wednesday.

Virat Kohli-led Indian team on Friday trained ahead of their three-day warm-up match against County Championship XI to prepare for the upcoming Test series against England in August.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan on Saturday criticised England's team selection for the first two Tests against India.

Ross Taylor's 80 helped guide New Zealand into a first-innings lead over England in the second and final Test at Edgbaston on Saturday.

Ross Taylor led a brisk batting display by New Zealand as the tourists pressed for an unlikely win on the fifth and final day of the first Test against England at Lord's on Sunday.

England captain Joe Root fell to the very first ball of the fourth day's play to spark a dramatic collapse in the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's on Saturday.

Indian opener Mayank Agarwal has stated that the team just wants to ease into things as the Virat Kohli-led side regrouped at Durham County Cricket Club for their first practice session, ahead of the five-match Test series against England.

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan on Wednesday said that he feels for spinner Jack Leach, after he was dropped from England's playing XI for the first Test against New Zealand, being played at the Lord's Cricket Ground.

Lambasting Jonny Bairstow's omission from the England squad for Tests against India, former skipper Kevin Pietersen said that it will be disrespectful to the host team if the visiting team does not put on field its best XI in the marquee series. Not only Bairstow but all-rounder Sam Curran and pacer Mark Wood have also been left out of the squad.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has once again lashed out at England selectors for resting Jonny Bairstow for the first two Tests against India as he 'plays spin well'.

Mayank Agarwal's fight to reclaim his place in Indian Test eleven starts on Tuesday when he walks out to open in a three-day game against 'County Select XI', starting on Tuesday as best friend KL Rahul gears up to keep wickets in Rishabh Pant's absence. The match has been accorded first-class status, a first for India in many years since Mahendra Singh Dhoni took over captaincy.

New Zealand's Tim Southee took six wickets while England opener Rory Burns hit 132 on his side's way to being bowled out for 275 in the first innings, leaving them trailing the visitors by 103 runs on day four at Lord's on Saturday.

All-rounder Ben Stokes and fast bowler Jofra Archer have been rested for England's two-Test tour of Sri Lanka in January, but both will return for the series in India the following month. The duo were omitted from the 16-player squad and seven travelling reserves named by the England selectors on Friday.

England have seconded three coaches from county cricket to help a 30-strong Test squad prepare for next month's three-match series against the West Indies. The players and coaches will live, prepare and train on-site in a bio-secure environment at the ground and its adjoining hotel until the first Test on July 8, with regular COVID-19 checks taking place amid the coronavirus pandemic.

World Cup-winning skipper Eoin Morgan, and the pace duo of James Anderson and Jofra Archer are among 55 England players who have been asked to resume outdoor training to prepare for cricket behind closed doors amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Team director Ashley Giles says England have no plans to "rush" their Indian Premier League stars back for next month's Test series against New Zealand and could introduce new faces to cope with a packed schedule. Among those currently serving quarantine periods are Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes and Sam Curran, all of whom have Test contracts with England.

New captain Ben Stokes and James Anderson both made the ball "talk" according to one of the batsmen who faced them on the first day of England's intra-squad clash at the Ageas Bowl on Wednesday.

England great Stuart Broad has urged cricket chiefs to "do away now" with the soft signal after feeling he had been denied a wicket by the current Decision Review System in the ongoing second Test against New Zealand.

Devon Conway became just the sixth batsman to score a hundred on Test debut at Lord's to leave New Zealand well-placed at stumps on the first day of their series opener against England.