England hand 6ft 7in left-arm seamer Josh Hull surprise international debut for final Test of the summer against Sri Lanka as they bid to secure sixth straight win
- England have made one change to the team that beat Sri Lanka at Lord’s
- Left-handed seamer Josh Hull has been signed to replace Matthew Potts
- England have won all five of their Test matches so far this summer
England have sprung a surprise by handing Josh Hull, a 6ft 2in left-handed Leicestershire player, his first Test appearance as they look to make their summer at The Oval as perfect as possible.
The 20-year-old from Hull will replace Durham fastback Matthew Potts for the third Test against Sri Lanka on Friday – despite having taken just two County Championship wickets this season at an average of 182.
The victory gives England their sixth Test win from six matches and their first clean sweep of a Test summer since Michael Vaughan’s team won seven out of seven in 2004.
Captain Ollie Pope said Hull, who have played just 10 first-class games, have a ‘massive ceiling’.
He added: ‘If you’re 6ft 6in and you can hit the ball 85-90mph, with a bit of swing and the angle of your left arm, there’s a lot to like.
Josh Hull (pictured) will make his international debut when the final Test of the summer begins on Friday
Hull have taken just two County Championship wickets this season but have impressed during England’s training
Stand-in captain Ollie Pope (pictured) believes Hull have a ‘massive ceiling’ as a player
Matthew Potts (pictured) is the player to make way for Hull as England aim for their sixth straight win of the summer
“It’s a really exciting week for him. He’ll be nervous, but we know what he can do in the future. It’s a great week for him to come in, learn a little bit and show what he can do.”
Hull’s rise, despite a modest record, is typical of this English line-up. Jamie Smith and Shoaib Bashir caused a stir in their first summers as Test cricketers, despite Smith not being first-choice wicketkeeper at Surrey and Bashir being second in Somerset’s spin-bowling hierarchy behind Jack Leach.
“It would be special to win 6-0,” said Pope, who has been captain for the injured Ben Stokes. “Winning is a habit. It will put us in a good position.
“I loved it. I know a lot has been said about me that I didn’t get the runs I wanted to get. But it’s a huge honour to be captain and it’s definitely something I want to do in the future.”
England XI for the Third Test: England: 1 Ben Duckett, 2 Dan Lawrence, 3 Ollie Pope (capt), 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jamie Smith (wkt), 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Olly Stone, 10 Josh Hull, 11 Shoaib Bashir.