Durham’s Ollie Robinson called up to England’s tour of New Zealand

Uncapped Durham wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson has been called up to the England squad for their tour of New Zealand following an injury to Jordan Cox.

Robinson, 25, will arrive on Saturday and could be in line for his debut in the second Test in Wellington next week.

Cox, who was due to make his own debut in Thursday’s first Test in Christchurch, suffered a broken thumb batting in the nets during England’s warm-up match in Queenstown at the weekend.

As a result, Ollie Pope is standing-in behind the stumps during the first Test, with 21-year-old Jacob Bethell making his debut and batting at number three.

Essex’s Cox was in line for his chance in place of first-choice keeper Jamie Smith, who is missing the tour on paternity leave.

But England opted against another specialist keeper in their squad, leading to Pope keeping in a Test for the fourth time and Bethell’s bow.

Like Cox, Robinson began his career at Kent, but moved north for the 2023 season in order to get more chances behind the stumps. He has since averaged 53 in first-class cricket for Durham, where he is a team-mate of England captain Ben Stokes.

He has previously toured Australia, India and Sri Lanka with England Lions.

Robinson gets his journey under way after a delay to renew his passport. In arriving in Christchurch on the third day of the first Test, he will have almost a week to acclimatise before the second Test begins on Friday.