England include off-spinner Dom Bess to squad ahead of the 2nd Test against New Zealand

Ahead of the second and final Test of the two-match series against New Zealand, England have added off-spinner Dom Bess to their squad. The second Test will take place from June 10-14 at Edgbaston in Birmingham.

England’s first-choice spinner Jack Leach is already part of the squad, but under COVID protocols and difficult times, Bess has been added to provide cover for Leach. The 23-year-old represented Yorkshire in the ongoing County Championship 2021, where he has bagged 14 wickets from eight fixtures.

Bess arrived in Birmingham on Sunday night – the day when England drew the first Test against New Zealand at Lords Cricket Ground in London. After a couple of days of isolation and testing, he will be free to train with the rest of the English squad, i.e. on Wednesday.

“The reason we’ve added Dom is that any cover we may need has to be in here with us. If Jack was to feature, we would need back-up for him regarding concussion replacements and things like that,” said England’s head coach Chris Silverwood as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“If we are looking at playing a spinner and Jack were to get injured leading into the game, then we will need someone else there as well. So it’s making sure we cover that. Are we expecting a spinning wicket? We will see when we get there, but I’m making sure we’ve got every base covered,” he added.

Silverwood further gave his reaction to England’s performance in the series opener against New Zealand, admitting that the lack of discipline forced them to pay the price.

“I felt we showed a lack of discipline at times, with shot management, and we paid the price for that. It’s something we addressed; we talked about in the dressing room. One thing I am keen for this team to do is to face problems and grab a difficult day,” Silverwood explained.

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