Josh Hull will cap an extraordinary rise to prominence by making his England Test debut on Friday after the 20‑year‑old seamer was picked for the summer’s final match against Sri Lanka at the Oval.
Hull replaces Matt Potts in the only change to the side that sealed a series win at Lord’s last week. The 6ft 7in left-armer has played only nine County Championship games; in three matches in that competition for Leicestershire this summer he took two wickets at an average of 182.50.
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He shot into contention after taking five wickets for England Lions against Sri Lanka last month, making it the most successful game of his first-class career, and was called up to the Test squad following Mark Wood’s withdrawal with injury. He could potentially make international debuts in all three formats in the space of a fortnight, having been named in both the T20 and one-day international squads to face Australia, with the first of those games to be played in Southampton next Wednesday.
“He’s got a massive ceiling and he’s pretty massive himself as well, which is pretty handy as a bowler,” said Ollie Pope, whose spell as England’s stand‑in captain is expected to end after this match. “When you’re 6ft 7in, pushing up to the 85-90mph mark and with a bit of swing with the left-arm angle, there’s a lot to like about it.
“When you have a left-arm option it’s a point of difference. Obviously being a batter myself I know the impact it can have. It’s tough on Pottsy, I think he’s bowled his heart out this summer. It’s just it was the right time to give someone a fresh opportunity and to learn something about Josh as well.”
Pope said he had been impressed when he faced Hull for the first time in the nets yesterday. “He’s worked closely with Jimmy Anderson last week, and Brendon McCullum’s been watching him closely as well,” Pope said. “That should give him massive confidence, that they think he’s ready for this opportunity. Today was the first time I faced him and he bowled really nicely so I was like: ‘Yeah, he’s good to go.’”
Hull’s selection continues a trend in which England have selected a series of young bowlers since McCullum’s appointment as head coach in 2022. His debut follows those of Rehan Ahmed, who became the youngest man to play Test cricket for England when he was selected at 18 years and 126 days to face Pakistan in Karachi later that year, and Shoaib Bashir, the 6ft 4in spinner who made his debut in India this February, also aged 20, and will play in all of this summer’s six Tests.
For all his callowness Hull will go into his first Test with more first‑class experience than either Rehan, who had played only three games, or Bashir, who had played six.
His selection in the Lions game last month means the Sri Lanka XI will be among the select few in attendance at the Oval on Friday to have seen Hull in action. “He bowled really well in that game,” the opener Dimuth Karunaratne said.
“In the first innings he struggled a bit but he got some bounce and he got some swing movement, and in the second innings he bowled really well. We’ve played against him before so we have some plans and that’s a plus point for us.”
Karunaratne said that having followed Bashir’s progress he was not surprised England had taken another gamble on youth. “They trust in people,” he said. “The captain and the coaches, they trust each player and that’s a really good sign. Then they give some confidence for the youngsters as well. As a former captain, it’s a better thing for the juniors. If you are good enough to play for England, you don’t need to have played plenty of first‑class cricket. If you perform well, you get a chance to play.”
England’s first training session at the Oval came less than three days after the end of the second Test at Lord’s, and like all their sessions attendance was optional – Joe Root, Ben Duckett and Gus Atkinson all missed it to prioritise their recoveries from that game. Several players and coaches went on to St George’s Cathedral in Southwark to attend Graham Thorpe’s funeral, at which Root and Ben Stokes were pallbearers.
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