England unveil squad for Zimbabwe Test ahead of blockbuster home summer of cricket
Skipper Ben Stokes makes a return from a hamstring injury he had sustained on the tour of New Zealand last year.
England have named their Test squad for the upcoming one-off match against Zimbabwe later this month.
Skipper Ben Stokes has been confirmed to take charge of the red-ball lineup, having made his recovery from a left hamstring tear injury.
Stokes had last featured during the three-Test series against New Zealand as part of the 2023-25 ICC World Test Championship cycle.
England squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue.
Another enterprising knock from Ben Stokes | CWC23
Ben Stokes hit 84 from 76.
Among other notable inclusions in the 13-member squad are two uncapped players in Test cricket, Sam Cook and Jordan Cox, both of whom represent Essex in the County Championship.
Right-arm pacer Sam Cook has been rewarded for his consistent displays at the domestic level, having fetched 318 first-class wickets, averaging an impressive 19.77.
Cook also stood out with the ball for the England Lions on their tour of Australia earlier this year, snapping 13 wickets from three matches.
Twenty-four-year-old Jordan Cox, on the other hand, has been among the top run-scorers at the County Championship this season, amassing 918 runs from 11 matches that include four centuries and two half-centuries.
Also making a return in the Test setup is wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith, who had opted out of England's tour of New Zealand for the birth of his first child.
Pacer Josh Tongue is also set for a comeback to the red-ball setup, having last featured in the Ashes Down Under back in 2023.
WATCH: Jos Buttler steps down as England's white-ball captain | Champions Trophy 2025
Jos Buttler steps down as England's white-ball captain | Champions Trophy 2025
Jos Buttler steps down as England white-ball captain | Champions Trophy 2025
England are gearing up for a much-anticipated home summer on the back of a dismal ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign that saw white-ball skipper Jos Buttler step down from his role.
Harry Brook has since taken over as his successor in ODIs and T20Is.
Ben Stokes and co will kickstart the home summer with the one-off Test at Trent Bridge starting May 22, later squaring off against India in a five-Test series starting June that will mark the beginning of the next ICC World Test Championship cycle.
Meanwhile, the white-ball team will also be in action against of West Indies, South Africa and Ireland through the course of the English summer.