The aim of England to shake up the established order continues, as evidenced by the fact that Josh Hull, who hails from Leicestershire, has been called up for the remainder of their series against Sri Lanka. This comes after Mark Wood was ruled out due to a thigh injury by England.
With a limited red-ball record at the domestic level, Hull, a left-arm fast who turned 20 on Tuesday, has a limited record of red balls. In his ten first-class outings, he has taken 16 wickets at an average of 62.75 runs per wicket. During this week’s County Championship match between Leicestershire and Gloucestershire, he recorded stats of one for 133, which is equivalent to a rate of close to six runs per over.
However, Hull was a standout performer in the England Lions’ victory against Sri Lanka earlier this month. He took five wickets during the match and was able to take out the veteran middle order of Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, and Dhananjaya de Silva during the first innings of the tourists’ game.
From the present England administration, this is just another example of a preference for natural traits over statistical data, as well as a readiness to take a chance. As part of the news statement that announced Hull’s selection, his height, which is 6 feet 7 inches, was emphasised. Additionally, his left-arm angle distinguishes him from the other members of the present squad. When it comes to young bowlers, England may refer to Shoaib Bashir as an example of someone who has found more success at the Test level than they have at the county level. Bashir, who is currently England’s first-choice spinner, was called up to the national team in the previous year despite making only six first-class games and returning 10 wickets at a score of 67.
Hull first came to public attention the previous year when he was instrumental in Leicestershire’s victory in the One-Day Cup. He took 17 wickets during the competition and bowled the final over of the championship match against Hampshire. He is yet another recent success story for Leicestershire’s academy, following in the footsteps of his county teammate Rehan Ahmed, who made history by becoming England’s youngest men’s Test debut against Pakistan in December of 2022.
The selection of Hull comes after Wood had a strain that prevented him from taking the pitch on the last day of England’s first Test victory at Old Trafford. Hull is the 34-year-old player who was unable to play.Olly Stone, who hails from Nottinghamshire, is also a member of England’s team. Hull is considerably further away from finding a successor that is comparable to Wood than Stone is. If Stone were to make an appearance in the second test match at Lord’s, it would be the first time he has played for England for an extended period of time since 2021. Stone has been unable to play since then due to injuries.
If Hull is given the opportunity to make his debut at Lord’s, he will be able to draw motivation from the experiences of those who have played there before him. In the previous year, Josh Tongue was the one who took five wickets in his debut international match, which was played against Ireland. During his first test match, which took place a month ago, Gus Atkinson amassed 12 runs against the West Indies.
Regarding his call-up, Hull expressed his excitement to BBC Radio Leicester, saying, “It’s come around pretty quickly, I didn’t think it would happen this fast, but I am really excited to be joining them.”
Despite the fact that I was pleased with my performance [with the England Lions], I never imagined that it would result in a call before this point. The fact that Olly Stone is there as the first replacement means that it will be an excellent opportunity to join up and be a part of that environment.
Jordan Cox, who scored 141 runs off of 124 balls for Essex against Hampshire on Friday, will continue to serve as the spare hitter in the 13-man group. Wood’s absence is the only change from the squad that was used for the first test.