Dom Sibley handed England debut for first Test against New Zealand

Sam Curran is preferred to Chris Woakes while Ollie Pope returns to the XI for the first time in over a year for the match at the Bay Oval

England will give Dom Sibley his international debut in the first Test against New Zealand at the Bay Oval.

The Warwickshire batsman will open alongside former Surrey teammate Rory Burns after finishing last season as the top run-scorer in the County Championship.

Ollie Pope returns to the side and is due to bat at No.6 in his first Test outing for 15 months.

Sam Curran is preferred to Chris Woakes in the bowling department, while Joe Denly is fit to play despite having been nursing an ankle injury.

Joe Root captains the side and will drop back down to No.4 in the batting line-up.

Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler - who will keep wicket in the absence of Jonny Bairstow - and Jofra Archer all return to action after being rested for the T20 series against the Kiwis.

The first Test gets underway on Wednesday at 10pm GMT, before the second game in Hamilton next week.

England: Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Joe Denly, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad.

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