Debutants locked in as Test cricket returns to Lord's

England and New Zealand have confirmed they will each field at least one debutant in the first Test at Lord's (starting tonight AEST) as English officials prepare to welcome crowds back to Test cricket for the first time since the 2019 Ashes.

New Zealand have confirmed their South African born left-hander Devon Conway will make his Test debut and open the batting alongside Tom Latham, while James Bracey will take the gloves and bat at No.7 on debut for England in the absence of Ben Foakes (injured) as well as Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow (rested).

The first of two Tests will be broadcast live in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports from 8pm AEST tonight, with coverage to begin at 7pm AEST.

The remaining selection question marks for both teams surround the make-up of their respective bowling attacks and whether they will opt for all seamers or a frontline spinner.

England skipper Joe Root said his strong bowling performance on the recent tour of India has given him greater confidence in his off-spin, which could lead to the hosts leaving out spinner Jack Leach for the extra pace of Mark Wood or Olly Stone.

Veterans Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad will lead the attack and are expected to be supported by another debutant, Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson, while the absence of allrounder Ben Stokes could force selectors to opt for another frontline seamer ahead of Leach.

The Kiwis are likely to pick one of left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner and paceman Matt Henry, while they also have a choice to make between seam-bowling allrounders Colin de Grandhomme and Daryl Mitchell.

Mitchell impressed last summer and scored a maiden Test ton when he filled in for the injured de Grandhomme, who is now fit again and is normally regarded as a certain selection in the Test side.

The expected warm and sunny weather in London this week could convince both teams to add more variety to their attack and stick with spinners Leach and Santner.

Conway, who started his career in South Africa before emigrating to New Zealand, burst onto the international scene in white-ball cricket last summer and his elevation to the Test side (he has 18 first-class hundreds to his name) seemed to be only a matter of time.

"It's a really exciting opportunity for Devon," Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson said.

"He's been involved with the team over the last year in the white-ball formats and done extremely well.

"He's an experienced player. He's played a lot of first-class cricket and he gets his opportunity to make his debut at the home of cricket."

England played six Tests behind closed doors last summer due to the pandemic, but a crowd capacity of 25 per cent at Lord’s – approximately 7500 fans – will be welcome this week.

It will be New Zealand’s first game at Lord’s since the famous 2019 World Cup final, when England were crowned champions under a controversial boundary countback rule that has since been scrapped.

But Williamson said there was no thought of avenging that result this week.

"To have been involved in that match and some of the controversies that surrounded it, the drama, and all of the things that come with the fine margins that we saw in that game, you do look back fondly," he said.

"There's been some time since that day. It was a fantastic game that was decided by things largely out of both teams' control.

"The guys are really excited to be back here. We're looking forward to the next challenge."

The two-match series will give New Zealand the perfect lead-in for their World Test Championship Final against India later this month, while England are preparing for a five-match campaign against India ahead of the Ashes this Australian summer.

England XI (possible): Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley, Joe Root (c), Ollie Pope, Dan Lawrence, James Bracey (wk), Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

New Zealand XI (possible): Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling (wk), Colin de Grandhomme/Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner