Cricket
Sam Cook, Josh Tongue and Sonny Baker in the mix for England seam-bowling spots in Zimbabwe Test at Trent Bridge, live on Sky Sports from May 22-25; Gus Atkinson to lead attack with Mark Wood, Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse out injured
Wednesday 30 April 2025 15:18, UK
Mark Wood. Jofra Archer. Olly Stone. Brydon Carse. Chris Woakes.
Each of those England seamers are set to be unavailable for next month’s one-off Test against Zimbabwe due to injury or, in Archer’s case, IPL assignments, so where exactly will the selectors turn?
With the squad to be announced imminently for that four-day Test at Trent Bridge from May 22-25, we look at the pacemen in the mix, from the dead certs to the potentials.
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A shoo-in. Atkinson enjoyed a dream first year in Test cricket, starting with a 12-wicket haul on debut against West Indies at Lord’s last July as he went a long way to upstaging the retiring James Anderson in the England great’s 188th and final Test.
Atkinson has bagged 52 wickets in 11 Tests so far, including a hat-trick in New Zealand, and barring an untimely injury will take the new ball for England against Zimbabwe in Nottingham.
The 27-year-old has played two matches this term as England manage his workload, picking up a four-for versus Sussex and then two wickets against Somerset during a game in which he also pinned opposition batter Sean Dickson on the hand.
Potts is also likely to be in the squad as he looks to add to his 10 Test caps and 36 wickets. The Durham man has scooped 12 wickets in three games for his county so far in this season’s County Championship, at an average of 34.91 and with a best of 4-112.
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The Sunderland-born seamer featured in one Test apiece in Pakistan and New Zealand over the winter, taking 4-90 in the first innings of the series finale against the Black Caps as he dismissed the great Kane Williamson for the fourth time in the format.
Potts has struggled to command a permanent place in the England team since debuting at home to New Zealand in 2022 but the current injury absences should give him another chance.
Injury problems meant Tongue had to wait over a year for his Nottinghamshire debut after signing from Worcestershire in 2023 but the quick dazzled on his bow for the Trent Bridge side against Durham earlier this month with a second-innings five-for.
Tongue then hoovered up his second five-wicket haul of the campaign in the recent win over Sussex, also at Trent Bridge, as the visitors were skittled for 169 on the opening day.
The 27-year-old has impressed in the Test arena before, taking 5-66 on his England debut against Ireland and then five wickets across the second Ashes Test against Australia at Lord’s two years ago.
An England debut, or at least a call-up, has seemed on the cards ever since England requested Cook be rested for Essex’s County Championship fixture against Worcestershire.
Many will feel an international chance is long overdue for one of the county game’s best and it may well have come already had he not suffered a hamstring injury last summer.
Cook, who usually operates around 80-82mph, has picked up 318 wickets in 88 first-class matches at an average below 20 – but his success with the Kookaburra ball that England will come up against in The Ashes this winter has also piqued the national team’s interest.
Cook made 23 breakthroughs across four rounds with that ball in the Championship last season before snaffling 13 wickets on England Lions’ tour of Australia this winter.
Emerging fast bowler Baker joined Cook on that aforementioned Lions trip and bagged eight wickets in two games, including 3-60 in the unofficial Test against Australia A.
It’s Baker’s raw pace that has England excited, with Sky Sports pundit and commentator Charles Dagnall saying the 22-year-old is a skiddy bowler in the mould of Darren Gough.
England asked Hampshire to rest Baker for a round of Championship action this month – perhaps hinting at a call-up – but he has struck eight times across the two matches he has played, taking a five-wicket haul against reigning champions Surrey.
He is inexperienced, with just three first-class appearances to date, but things like that tend not to matter in this England era. If they rate you, they pick you.
Leicestershire left-armer Hull was the beneficiary of England not being put off by inexperience and less-than stellar stats as he made his debut against Sri Lanka last summer having taken 16 wickets at 62.75 across his 10 first-class matches.
The 6ft 7in seamer gave a glimpse of his potential with three wickets in that Sri Lanka Test at The Kia Oval, impressing Stuart Broad and Ricky Ponting, only for a quad injury to then rule him out of the Pakistan series the following month.
Hull is fit again now and collected three wickets for Leicestershire against Gloucestershire last time out, including Australian Cameron Green lbw. That battle could perhaps be seen again in The Ashes.
Watch England’s one-off, four-day Test against Zimbabwe, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am (11am first ball) on Thursday May 22.
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