Jimmy Anderson out of third England vs New Zealand Test with injury, confirms skipper Ben Stokes

June 22, 2022

England skipper Ben Stokes has confirmed Jimmy Anderson will miss the third Test vs New Zealand with an ankle injury, as Jamie Overton comes in for his debut.

Speaking to Sky Sports on Wednesday, Stokes said: "Unfortunately Jimmy (Anderson) has not pulled up as well as we would have liked. So Jamie Overton is going to make his debut this week.

"It's unfortunate for Jimmy but we've obviously got a massive Test match against India next week to look to as well.

"He didn't pull up as well, so it's great Jamie gets the opportunity to represent England.

"I'm not too sure to be honest [of the injury], I'm sure the medical team will update me, but he's got a bit of a puffy ankle."

Stokes added he was unsure at this stage how long Anderson may be kept out, but spoke of his excitement at the talent of Overton.

"He's [Overton] been very impressive," he said

"The way that he's bowled, we always want a point of difference in our side, and Jamie's been bowling with some serious pace and been changing games as well.

"So to have someone come in, in obviously a different role to what Jimmy normally plays, and in the back pocket have someone who can bowl 90 miles an hour, and bowl aggressively is exciting to have in the team.

"That's the only change this week, as tempting as it was to get two twins [Overton brothers] out there playing for England.

"Jamie for Jimmy is the only change."

At 2-0 up after two Tests vs New Zealand, and with the series wrapped up, Stokes was also asked what the focus is this week for the third and final Test, live on Sky Sports.

"We've obviously won the series, but as everyone keeps saying now, there's World Test Championship points to play for," Stokes added.

"With last week being an amazing week and an amazing day at Trent Bridge, we want to carry that on with the way that we play.

"I was pretty simple and clear in the dressing room, I said: 'This week, let's try and think like we're in the entrainment business rather than the sporting business.'

"We've managed to do something last week, and there's a reason we had 20,000 people at Trent Bridge on Day 5. Because they want to come and watch this new brand of cricket that we're playing.

"So I set a challenge to the team to come out and be even more fearless, more positive and more aggressive than we were last week."

Williamson returns for NZ after Covid | "We want to be better"

Kane Williamson is back to lead New Zealand's quest to avoid a series whitewash against England after watching last week's Trent Bridge thriller on his hotel television.

Williamson tested positive for Covid-19 after experiencing mild symptoms on the evening before the Nottingham Test and was forced to take in his side's dramatic fifth day defeat in isolation.

But he has picked the baton back up from deputy Tom Latham for the final Test at Headingley, cleared for action alongside Devon Conway and Michael Bracewell who both tested positive after the previous match, hoping to have picked up some fresh insights along the way.

"I watched a lot of it, I didn't have too much else to do," he said.

"I don't shout at the TV, I watch and observe. It's always interesting seeing it from a different perspective, although it wasn't my preferable place to be. It was interesting to watch and connect from the other side a little bit.

"There was a lot of effort that went into the match and you do have to applaud the quality England have come in with. It was a Test where both teams put their front foot forward, played some shots.

"England are a strong side playing well so for us it's about improving as a side, the bigger picture. It's about focusing on our cricket and finding different areas of the game to target. The focus is on us and wanting to be better."

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