Christchurch, Nov 26 (IANS): England have handed a debut to uncapped youngster Jacob Bethell as they named their playing XI for the opening Test of the three-match series against New Zealand, starting on Thursday at Hagley Oval.

Bethell's inclusion in the XI came on the back of some strong recent form during white-ball series against Australia and West Indies and will bat at No.3 on debut.

While Bethell is relatively inexperienced against the red ball and has never made a first-class century, the 21-year-old did finish as England's second leading run-scorer during the 2022 edition of the ICC Men's Under 19 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies with 205 runs at an average of 34.16.

Ollie Pope will keep wicket in the absence of Jordan Cox, who fractured his right thumb during practice last weekend in Queenstown, and will bat at six.

All-rounder Ben Stokes will captain the side, with Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse making up the pace attack and the trio joined by spinner Shoaib Bashir in a strong bowling line-up.

The first Test commences on Thursday, with the series then moving to Wellington and Hamilton for the final two Tests.

England XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (wk), Ben Stokes (c), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir