ENG vs NZ | Jamie Overton set to replace injured James Anderson

England's Test captain Ben Stokes has confirmed that Jamie Overton will make his Test debut and replace injured James Anderson in the third Test match against New Zealand at Headingley.

Test Cricket's most successful fast bowler- Anderson, has been left out of the squad after the Lancashire seamer injured his ankle.

"Unfortunately Jimmy (James Anderson) has not pulled up as well as we would have liked. So Jamie Overton is going to make his debut this week," said Ben Stokes on the eve of the Headingley Test.

The English skipper is hopeful of Anderson's return in the one-off Test against India next week.

"It's unfortunate for Jimmy but we've obviously got a massive Test match against India next week to look to as well. He didn't pull up as well, so it's great Jamie (Overton) gets the opportunity to represent England."

When asked about Anderson's injury extent, the Durham cricketer said that he's not too sure of the injury and has yet to receive an update from the medical team.

"I'm not too sure, to be honest [of the injury], I'm sure the medical team will update me, but he's got a bit of a puffy ankle."

Stokes further said that Overton has been impressive with his pace and can be the point of difference in the side.

"He's [Overton] been very impressive. The way that he's bowled, we always want a point of difference in our side, and Jamie's been bowling with some serious pace and been changing games as well.”

Jamie Overton's selection for the match, which starts on Thursday, means his twin brother, Craig, misses out. Stokes admitted that it was very tempting to play both Craig and Jamie together but ultimately decided to go against that idea.

"So to have someone come in, in obviously a different role to what Jimmy normally plays, and in the back pocket have someone who can bowl 90 miles an hour, and bowl aggressively is exciting to have in the team. That's the only change this week, as tempting as it was to get two twins [Overton brothers] out there playing for England. Jamie for Jimmy is the only change," Stokes added.

England have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead against the world Test champions, following five-wicket wins at Lord's and Trent Bridge. The star all-rounder said England will play the same aggressive brand of cricket and try to entertain the spectators.

"We've obviously won the series, but as everyone keeps saying now, there's World Test Championship points to play for. With last week being an amazing week and an amazing day at Trent Bridge, we want to carry that on with the way that we play.

"I was pretty simple and clear in the dressing room, I said: 'This week, let's try and think like we're in the entrainment business rather than the sporting business.'

"We've managed to do something last week, and there's a reason we had 20,000 people at Trent Bridge on Day 5. Because they want to come and watch this new brand of cricket that we're playing. So I set a challenge to the team to come out and be even more fearless, more positive, and more aggressive than we were last week."

Meanwhile, England's batting coach Marcus Trescothick has tested positive for COVID-19 and was absent from the first day of training at Headingley ahead of Thursday's final Test against New Zealand. 

Trescothick is currently self-isolating at home and being tested regularly, but his return to the team camp remains unspecified.