NEW ( AND OLD ENGLAND

Familiar faces plus fresh ones in Potts and Brook give Stokes hope for future

BY DEAN WILSON

Cricket Correspondent

@CricketMirror

ROB KEY is betting the house on Ben Stokes unlocking the potential in English cricket this summer.

Stokes (right) will fancy his chances with his Durham team-mate Matthew Potts after earning his maiden Test call.

Yorkshire’s Harry Brook is the other new face in the Test squad for the first two matches against New Zealand.

Potts has the better chance of graduating from the 13-men and into a Test debut. The series starts a fortnight today at Lord’s.

Seamer Potts has flown out of the traps this season with 35 wickets in Division Two of the county championship, more than any other bowler.

He operates at a lively pace and it did the 23-yearold no harm to have the new England captain watching him from close quarters in the last few games as he hit top form.

There is an extra bonus for any young bowler entering the international arena, in the shape of James Anderson and Stuart Broad (above) earning recalls to the squad following their axe in the Windies. Their presence adds an air of familiarity to the squad at the start of a brave new era.

But with so many injury concerns among bowlers at the moment it is also a sign that quality, form and fitness will be the main criteria for selection. “I like the look of Potts,” said managing director of men’s cricket Rob Key, who chaired the selection meeting. “I’m excited by what he offers. We see him as a point of difference. “Ben Stokes has seen him close at hand, I’ve seen a lot of him.

“There are a lot of people who can run in and bowl, but it’s the character really, and I’m excited by someone of that age and the way he runs in and lets you know you’re in a proper contest.” As for Brook, he has been right at the forefront with the bat – 758 runs at an average of 151 in Division One.

It is England’s batting that remains their most fragile discipline. They are doubling down on Zak Crawley as an opener and Ollie Pope at No.3 in a position he has never batted before.