England have been handed an injury boost ahead of the first Test against New Zealand cricket with Jacob Bethell expected to be fit to feature.
Bethell had emerged as a doubt for the clash at Lord’s after returning from the Indian Premier League early with a finger injury.
But after assessment at a training camp in Loughborough, England have confirmed that the 22-year-old left-hander should be able to resume duties at No 3 having made a superb Ashes hundred at Sydney in his last Test.
His availability is a boost to a top order already set to feature one debutant in Durham’s Emilio Gay, primed to open alongside Ben Duckett. Had Bethell been ruled out, James Rew was the likely beneficiary though the wicketkeeper-batter tends to bat in the middle order at Somerset.
Meanwhile, England head coach Brendon McCullum has defended only returning to the United Kingdom in the last week, insisting he has been watching plenty of the County Championship and revealing he had undergone a couple of operations in his native New Zealand.
McCullum’s break came in the wake of a busy winter that included both the Ashes and a T20 World Cup, but he had faced criticism from figures including Michael Vaughan.
“I’ve been able to have a little break after what was quite a demanding time,” McCullum explained in an in-house interview released by the ECB.
“I’m very lucky that, when [England managing director Rob Key] offered me the full-time role with the white-ball teams as well as the Test one, he was very mindful of the fact there would be a lot of demands with the schedule and that I had a young family. There would be times when I needed to be at home.
“I’ve been on the road for 25 years so I’m not unaccustomed to the demands of touring, but it is important at times to take your breaks, refresh a bit and get ready for an exciting summer ahead.
“I watched quite a lot of the County Championship. The way it is these days there’s a huge system behind the England’s men side that feeds information into us. It is almost impossible to be at every game now when you’re on the road for 10 months a year. I’ve been across most of the matches and I’ve seen a huge amount of talent in the English game.”
New Zealand are fretting over the fitness of their attack leader Matt Henry after the seamer was ruled out of the one-off Test against Ireland in Belfast with a hamstring issue.
Henry, who has suffered a low-grade strain, has joined up with fellow New Zealand fast bowlers Will O’Rourke and Kyle Jamieson in London ahead of the Lord’s Test, which begins on 4 June.
