England Include Uncapped Liam Livingstone For New Zealand Tests, Ben Stokes Named Too

Uncapped Liam Livingstone has been included in England’s 16-man squad for the forthcoming two-Test tour of New Zealand while Gary Ballance has been dropped from the side despite not featuring at any stage of the recently-concluded Ashes. Under pressure batting duo James Vince and Mark Stoneman have also retained their place despite their unimpressive show against Australia.

The England selectors have refrained from overhauling the squad following the humiliating 4-0 loss in the Ashes, keeping 13 of the players who were in the Ashes squad for the upcoming tour.

Livingstone made his international debut in the T20 series against South Africa last year, failing to impress. However, he has been one of the most sought-after youngsters in England for quite some time now. The 24-year old scored 805 runs for Lancashire in the last season of County Championship including an impressive 224 against Warwickshire.

“Liam has been a player that we have been impressed with for quite some time, having performed well in the county system with Lancashire and over the past couple of years with the England Lions,” said England National Selector James Whitaker. “He is a very talented and tough cricketer who has the ideal qualities and character to be successful in the Test arena.

England Include Uncapped Liam Livingstone For New Zealand Tests, Ben Stokes Named Too
Livingstone made his international debut last year (Credits: Getty)

“During the recent Lions tour of Australia, he was a standout performer and showed a lot of maturity in his attitude and put in some strong performances. We are particularly impressed with the way he bats against spin and is equally adept against the seamers.”

Mark Wood has been recalled to the squad for the first time since the second Test against South Africa at Trent Bridge last July. The Durham pacer was ruled out of the Ashes tour because of an ankle injury. Wood was in contention to play in the Perth Test but was eventually not included because of lack of match-fitness.

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England Include Uncapped Liam Livingstone For New Zealand Tests, Ben Stokes Named Too
Mark Wood’s last Test appearance came in July last year (Credits: Getty)

“After a frustrating period with injuries, Mark is now back to full fitness and is looking forward to being part of our Test plans,” Whitaker said. “He will play a significant part in our forthcoming ODI tour of Australia and we will be paying close attention to his efforts over the next few weeks.”

England Include Uncapped Liam Livingstone For New Zealand Tests, Ben Stokes Named Too
Stokes has been named in the squad too (Credits: Getty)

Along with Ballance, Tom Curran and Jake Ball have also been dropped from the squad while suspended all-rounder Ben Stokes has been included – although his involvement is subject to any relevant legal or disciplinary developments.

“All three players (Gary Ballance, Jake Ball, Tom Curran) have worked hard on the recent Ashes tour,” said Whitaker. “Unfortunately, they miss out on selection for New Zealand. All three will return to county cricket and will be looking to start the season well with a view to staking their claim to get back into selection reckoning. They are talented players and I am sure their time will come again.”

England will start their tour of New Zealand with a couple of two-day warm-up matches against New Zealand A before the first Test in Auckland, starting on March 22. The second Test takes place in Christchurch and begins on March 30.

England squad:

Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Mason Crane, Ben Foakes, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ben Stokes, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

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