On Friday, December 13, England announced their playing XI for the third and final Test against New Zealand. As is customary, the team revealed their lineup just 24 hours before the match. In a notable change, England’s captain Ben Stokes confirmed that Chris Woakes would be dropped for the final game, and Matthew Potts replaces him.
The full playing XI for England includes Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes (c), Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Brydon Carse, and Shoaib Bashir.
This change comes after a dominant series performance by England, who have been in control since the first Test, where they handed New Zealand an 8-wicket defeat. Woakes was instrumental in that victory, taking three wickets, and played in the second Test as well, where he picked up another three wickets. However, with England already securing a commanding 323-run win in the second Test, the team likely wants to manage Woakes’ workload ahead of a busy home schedule.
Matthew Potts will be making his first appearance of the series in this match. Given that the series is already decided, with England leading 2-0, the change appears to be a tactical move to rest Woakes and explore other options.
New Zealand, on the other hand, has not yet revealed their playing XI for the third Test and are expected to announce it after the toss at Seddon Park in Hamilton. The match, effectively a dead rubber, is set to be another challenging encounter for the visitors.
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