In the latest development, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced the test squad for the upcoming away New Zealand series. The squad will be led by their regular captain Ben Stokes and the first match of the Test series is set to commence on November 28. England have made just one change to their squad for the series against New Zealand, with Jacob Bethell stepping in to replace Jamie Smith, who has taken paternity leave to be with his family for the birth of his first child. Also Read: It Has Exposed Bazball Says Nasser Hussain After England Series Loss Against Pakistan Bethell, who celebrated his 21st birthday earlier this week, showed his potential during his white-ball debut series against Australia in September, where he scored a vital 44 off 24 balls in Cardiff's second T20I match. Despite this promising start, his red-ball experience is limited to just 20 County matches, and he is yet to score his first century in that format. This selection underlines England's shift in squad strategy, moving away from conventional benchmarks like experience or averages, and instead focusing on players with standout potential. Notable recent selections following this approach include 20-year-old seamer Josh Hull, who made his debut against Sri Lanka over the summer, as reported by ESPNcricinfo. With Smith unavailable, Jordan Cox will take over wicketkeeping duties for the upcoming Tests against New Zealand. Cox, alongside Bethell and Rehan Ahmed, will join the Test squad after wrapping up the current series against the West Indies. The series is set to kick off at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Thursday, November 28. Following that, the second Test will commence in Wellington on December 6, with the final Test taking place in Hamilton on December 14. England Test squad for New Zealand series Ben Stokes (c), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes