England make four changes to playing XI for series-decider third Test in Nottingham
England Team Huddle (Source: Getty Images)
Published - 23 Jun 2026, 08:03 PM• Read time - 2 mins
England have unveiled their playing XI for the third and final Test against New Zealand, beginning on June 25, to be played at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. The hosts have made as many as four changes to the team, following a crushing 253-run defeat in the second Test at the Oval.
Ben Stokes returns as captain following the conclusion of the investigation into his breach of the team’s night curfew, which resulted in an incident at a nightclub. Gus Atkinson, who accompanied Stokes at the nightclub, also marks his return to the team.
The duo comes in place of Jordan Cox and Matthew Fisher for the series-decider Test. Cox scored 27 and 25 in the two innings, respectively, on his debut. However, Fisher had a good game, picking up five wickets across two innings and scoring an unbeaten half-century (50*) in England’s first innings.
Apart from the duo, Jamie Smith returns to take up the wicketkeeping duties after missing the second Test following the birth of his daughter.
He replaces James Rew, who didn’t have a memorable debut at the Oval, scoring 39 runs across two innings and also had an underwhelming performance as a wicketkeeper.
England docked 12 WTC points
Meanwhile, England’s woes have deepened following their crushing defeat in the second Test as they have been fined 50 per cent of their match fee and docked twelve points in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle for maintaining a slow over-rate during the Test. The hosts were found twelve overs short of the target once time allowances were taken into account.
England’s playing XI for the third Test: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Ben Stokes (C), Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.
