Matt Parkinson retained in England squad for second Test, Jack Leach doubtful

Leg-spinner Matt Parkinson has been retained as England have confirmed their 14-player squad for the second Test against New Zealand, which gets underway on Friday (June 10) at the Trent Bridge. Parkinson made his Test debut in the opening game as he came as a concussion substitute for Jack Leach, who got injured while fielding. Notably, Leach has also retained his place in the squad but his participation is doubtful.

The left-arm spinner sustained a concussion while fielding at the boundary in the sixth over of the match. He subsequently got ruled out of the fixture and Parkinson received his maiden Test cap. The leg-spinner, who has been a part of the Test squad for a while, didn’t have much to do in the Lord’s Test with the track assisting the pacers. While the youngster went wicketless in New Zealand’s first innings, he recorded figures of 1/47 in 15.3 overs in the visiting team’s second innings.

It must be noted that Leach has suffered a concussion at least twice before in his professional career and is highly unlikely to feature in the upcoming game. Hence, Parkinson should get another shot and he would be raring to make a mark. While Parkinson could take only one wicket on debut, England skipper Ben Stokes said the leg-spinner’s role was to go for wickets.

Everybody was very excited to see Matt Parkinson play: Ben Stokes

“The way that Parky’s Test career has gone, following the team round every tour and not getting an opportunity, that pretty much sums up how he was going to get his chance: Leachy gets concussion and he finds himself driving down to play. But when it came to bringing Parky on, his role as the legspinner is to come on and change the game, not to hold the game,” said Stokes after the game.

“It was just a great opportunity to get him into the game and it was good to see him get his first Test wicket as well. He’s a really popular guy among the group. He’s been on a lot of tours with us, we all know him really well, and everybody was very excited to see him play – albeit in unfortunate circumstances,” he added. Meanwhile, Craig Overton, Harry Brook have also retained their spot in the squad  despite warming the benches at Lord’s.

England squad for second Test: Alex Lees, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (capt), Ben Foakes (wk), Matthew Potts, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Jack Leach, Matt Parkinson, Craig Overton, Harry Brook