England calls James Rew as a replacement for injuries; Simbabwe appoints Gary Ballance as a consultant for a free test

England handed over a maiden test to Somerset's 21-year-old Wicketkeepnee battery James Rew after Jordan Cox was excluded due to a belly injury.

The injury occurred during the County Championship Match from Essex against Somerset, where Cox retired after a century. Rew, who held the gates in the same game, now replaces Cox in the squad for the one -time test against Zimbabwe on May 22nd.

This is the second time that Cox missed a test debut due to injuries after being excluded from New Zealand during England's tour last year. Rew, an outstanding performer in the County Championship with an average of 54.21 this season, was in a sparkling form.

His most recent knocking of 116 led Somerset to victory over Essex, which continued to consolidate his case for the selection. Rew, a product of the England Lions Pathway, was instrumental in the course of the Young Lions for the 2022 ICC U19 World Championship in addition to the current teaching such as Rehan Ahmed and Jacob Bethell.

The updated squad of England for the test includes Ben Stokes (captain), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, James Rew, Joe Root, Jamie Smith and Josh Tongue.

In the meantime, Zimbabwe has appointed the former England and Zimbabwe -Teig Gary Ballance as a coaching consultant for the historical test. Ballance that played 23 tests for England before moving loyalty to Zimbabwe in 2023 brings with it an abundance of experiences. He wrote the story by becoming only the second player after Keppler Wessels to achieve centuries for two nations.

Simbabwes Managing Director Givemore Makoni said: “We are very happy to welcome Gary Ball in our coaching setup for this historic tour.

Zimbabwe, fresh from a competitive series of tests in Bangladesh, where they secured their first victory since 2018, is also reinforced by the return of the star all-rounder sicandar Raza. The one -time test on the Trent Bridge will be the first in English soil since 2003.