England have named their playing XI for the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval, starting on Wednesday, with Jordan Cox and Sonny Baker set to make their Test debuts as part of four changes to the side that won the first Test at Lord’s by 115 runs.The hosts have made several changes after Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were stood down for breaching team protocols during celebrations following the first Test victory. In Stokes’ absence, Joe Root will captain the side.Fast bowlers Jofra Archer and Matt Fisher have also been included. Archer returns to the Test side, while Fisher is set to play his first Test since making his debut on England’s tour of the Caribbean in 2022. England have opted for a four-man pace attack for the match.England were also forced into changes due to injuries and conditions. Ollie Robinson has been ruled out after suffering a knee injury during training. Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir has been left out after conditions at Lord’s indicated that spin was unlikely to have a major role.Head coach Brendon McCullum explained the decision to hand a debut to Cox.“James Rew was our back-up batter in the squad, but that was very much to cover the top-six role. Jordan Cox was obviously over at the IPL. We wanted to see him come back and see what he could do before we thrust him into that role for the first time,” Brendon McCullum, England’s head coach, said on Monday.New Zealand are yet to announce their team for the second Test.England XI: Emilio Gay, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root (captain), Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Jordan Cox, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Matt Fisher, Sonny Baker.
