England desperate to win, says Stokes as WTC action resumes

As England prepare to return to action in the ICC World Test Championship, skipper Ben Stokes believes the team will be more driven to nab a win against New Zealand in the three-match series starting June 4. 

Speaking ahead of the first Test at Lord’s, Stokes said, “You'll be seeing an England team go out there that's still desperate to win. We'll go out there, and we'll try to win the series.”

Stokes arrives in the series on the back of his recovery from a facial injury. Having sustained a broken cheekbone while assisting in the training, the England captain was forced to undergo surgery for the same.

“Thankfully, I came out pretty well from it. Could've been a lot worse. Can't wait to get going. Yeah, it's been a long time coming,” Stokes said.

England named their 12-member squad for the first Test on Tuesday, featuring off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, who didn’t feature in their last assignment against Australia earlier this year. 

Stokes believes Bashir deserves to be in contention for the upcoming series, having earned his spot in the 12-member squad.

"The thing with Bashir was, it was his first time since he has been in the England team where he has been able to go away for a long period of time and play for Derby[shire]," he said.

"He has worked on some technical things - which you can see he has worked very hard on.

"We are very happy with the progression he has made. He has been bowling overs for Derby and he is someone who we see having a very long career for England as a spinner.

"He is in a great place, he is excited. Obviously, Australia didn't go how he imagined it would have done for him but he went away, worked hard, and has become a better bowler from it. He deserves to be in the 12."

Another notable feature of the squad is Ollie Robinson, who last played a Test for England during the 2024 tour of India. 

Stokes was all praise for the right-arm pacer, and believes he will play a major role in the upcoming three-match series.

"We have spoken to Ollie, and he knows the reason he has found himself back here is that he has done what we wanted to see from him," he said.

"You guys all know that when he is operating at that level, he is world-class.

"His Test matches that he has played in so far - his numbers are up there with the very best.

"For him, the easy part was always getting back in because he is that good. Now he is here, it is about staying here for as long as he can.

"I think the time away from the team, as frustrating as it was for him, hopefully we see Ollie Robinson in an England shirt for the next four, five, six years."

Robinson has 76 wickets from 20 Tests for England and is accompanied by the likes of Sonny Baker, Josh Tongue, Gus Atkinson and skipper Stokes in the pace attack.

England currently sit seventh in the WTC Standings after 10 matches in the ongoing cycle.

New Zealand, on the other hand, are the second-ranked team, with two wins from their three outings so far. 

England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue

Series schedule:

First Test - June 4-8, Lord's 

Second Test - June 17-21, The Oval

Third Test -  June 25-29, Nottingham