Stuart Broad, Matt Potts, Dan Lawrence back in England Test squad for New Zealand tour

Stuart Broad has been recalled to England's Test squad following the birth of his first child, while Matt Potts and Dan Lawrence are also back in the set-up for the two-Test tour of New Zealand in February.

Potts, who made his Test debut in the first match of the 2022 summer, also against New Zealand at Lord's, impressed with his 20 wickets at 28.00 in the first five matches under Ben Stokes' captaincy.

However, he did not feature in the final two matches of the summer against South Africa following the return to action of Ollie Robinson, and was a surprise omission from England's squad for the Pakistan tour.

Lawrence, meanwhile, is back in the set-up for the first time since the tour of the Caribbean last March, on which his spirited batting displays - including scores of 91 and 41 in Barbados - proved to be an early indication of the team's future direction of travel. However, he suffered a dip in form for Essex in 2022, exacerbated by a pair of hamstring injuries.

The 15-man squad also includes Olly Stone, the Warwickshire fast bowler who featured in the recent ODI series against Australia but has not played a Test since New Zealand's tour of England in June 2021.

He has a chance to be England's pace spearhead on the trip, following the decision to rest Mark Wood in the wake of his key roles in the second and third Tests against Pakistan this month.

Wood, who was also a major factor in England's successful T20 World Cup campaign, is due to take a break from all international and franchise cricket in January to fully recover after a busy winter in all formats. He is expected to tour Bangladesh in March, where England play three ODIs and three T20Is, and is likely to be available for the IPL too.

Rehan Ahmed, England's 18-year-old matchwinner in Karachi last week, has not been included in the squad, as part of his management for the winter. He is instead set to play for Gulf Giants in the ILT20 in the UAE in January, and could be in the frame for the Bangladesh white-ball tour too.

Of the remainder of the squad that toured Pakistan, Liam Livingstone misses the tour while recuperating from the knee injury that he suffered during the Rawalpindi Test, while Jamie Overton and Keaton Jennings, unused squad members, are also omitted.

With another year of competing demands looming for England's multi-format players, Joe Root has been included in the tour, but will be limited to a handful of games for Dubai Capitals in the ILT20 between now and then, with England seeking to manage his workload ahead of the defence of the 50-over World Cup in India in November 2023.

Four members of the squad will fly directly to New Zealand from South Africa, including Harry Brook, who was this morning a big-money signing in the IPL auction. Ben Duckett and Stone will also have been playing in the three-match white-ball series against South Africa, while Will Jacks is due to play a longer stint at the SA20.

England Test squad: Ben Stokes (capt), James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Will Jacks, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Olly Stone