Jonny bairstow axed from england test squad for tour to new zealand

England have left out Jonny Bairstow from their 15-man squad for the two Tests against New Zealand, starting on November 21. The wicket-keeper has paid the price for a below-par Ashes series

with the bat, where he averaged just 23.77. Jos Buttler looks set to take the gloves from Bairstow, being rewarded for his fine end to the Ashes with the bat. The uncapped Dominic Sibley

has earned a call-up after a fine season opening the batting for Warwickshire in the County Championship, as has Kent's Zak Crawley. Surrey batsman Ollie Pope is back in the fold after

playing two Tests against India in 2018. There are two other potential Test debutants in Lancashire pace bowler Saqib Mahmood and his county team-mate Matt Parkinson, who is a leg-spinner.

James Anderson remains absent as he continues his rehabilitation from the calf injury that kept him out of the majority of the Ashes. There will also be a five-match T20I series before the

two Test matches, starting on November 1. Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jason Roy, Jofra Archer and Buttler have been rested for that part of the tour, whereas Moeen Ali misses out altogether.

Somerset wicket-keeper batsman Tom Banton, who starred in this summer’s Vitality Blast, has earned his first international call-up. Mahmood and Parkinson are also in the T20 party, as is

Worcestershire bowler Pat Brown. Bairstow is named in the squad, along with the uncapped Lewis Gregory. ENGLAND IT20 SQUAD FOR NEW ZEALAND TOUR: Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) captain Jonny

Bairstow (Yorkshire) Tom Banton (Somerset) Sam Billings (Kent) Pat Brown (Worcestershire) Sam Curran (Surrey) Tom Curran (Surrey) Joe Denly (Kent) Lewis Gregory (Somerset) Chris Jordan

(Sussex) Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire) Dawid Malan (Middlesex) Matt Parkinson (Lancashire) Adil Rashid (Yorkshire) James Vince (Hampshire) ENGLAND TEST SQUAD FOR NEW ZEALAND TOUR: Joe Root

(Yorkshire) captain Jofra Archer (Sussex) Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire) Rory Burns (Surrey) Jos Buttler (Lancashire) Zak Crawley (Kent) Sam Curran (Surrey) Joe Denly (Kent) Jack Leach

(Somerset) Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire) Matthew Parkinson (Lancashire) Ollie Pope (Surrey) Dominic Sibley (Warwickshire) Ben Stokes (Durham) Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)