England Cricket Board announced the 13-man squad for their upcoming Test. And James Anderson and Stuart Broad return to the side. Previously, the two veterans got dropped from the last Test squad. However, they’re back under a new captain and coach. The England and Wales Cricket Board announced Ben Stokes as their new captain. Also, Brendon McCullum will take over as the new head coach. The duo’s first assignment is a 3-match Test series against New Zealand. For now, the announced squad holds for the first two tests. However, both Broad and Anderson will hope to keep their places.
James Anderson is arguably one of the best Test bowlers of his generation. He has a staggering 640 wickets in 169 Tests, the most in England’s history. Furthermore, Stuart Broad comes second with a record of 537 Test wickets. The bowling pair’s records speak for themselves. Anderson and Broad will return amidst big expectations.
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Anderson and Broad return to Test Cricket: England’s new era?
New England captain Ben Stokes.
There are going to be a handful of firsts in this Test series. Ben Stokes will take over as the full-time captain of the England Test team. Former Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum will begin his head coach duty. Fittingly enough, his first task is to beat his home nation. Notably, McCullum rose to prominence as a revolutionary leader for the Black Caps. It will be pretty interesting to see the McCullum-Stokes collaboration. Moreover, Anderson might expect to excel under this new leadership.
Harry Brook and Matty Potts also received their first Test call-up for England. Harry Brook is a batter of the two, while Potts is a fast bowler. Overall, England will seemingly field a bunch of youth and experience together on the field. New Zealand will most certainly be wary of the return of Anderson and Broad.
England Test team is currently on a torrid run. They could only secure one win in the last 17 matches. Leading to it, Joe Root gave up on his captaincy role. Furthermore, New Zealand is the reigning World Test Champions. Stokes will look to start a new era under his leadership. He has a very able colleague in Brendon McCullum.
