England shaping up for summer

resented an irresistible case.

While the presence of two young, in-form talents and the restoration of the two leading wicket-takers in England’s history represents cause for optimism there may also be some frustration that the attack-minded pairing of Stokes and McCullum have not drafted in Parkinson.

The Lancashire wrist-spinner is the leading spinner in the country this term, despite bowling on largely unhelpful pitches, but even 23 scalps in four outings has not been enough.

Elsewhere, England have kept faith with Alex Lees and Zak Crawley, the opening pair from the recent West Indies tour, and retained wicketkeeper Ben Foakes for what should be his first home Test.

Jonny Bairstow also holds his place despite his ongoing involvement in the Indian Premier League and a late decision on his readiness could be required.

Key, who also involved performance director Mo Bobat, head scout James Taylor and player identification lead David Court in selection, said: “This is the start of a new era for our Test team under the stewardship of Ben and Brendon. With a blend of youth and experience, we have selected an exciting squad that can compete with New Zealand in next month’s Test series.”

England squad: Ben Stokes (Durham, captain), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Jack Leach (Somerset), Alex Lees (Durham), Craig Overton (Somerset), Matthew Potts (Durham), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Joe Root (Yorkshire).

■ Australia’s Matthew Mott will oversee England men’s white-ball teams. He has signed a four-year deal, having edged out Paul Collingwood for the position. It is the first time since 2014 that England have split their head coaches into red and white-ball roles, with former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum last week announced as the Test supremo.