England face three Test selection problems in defining year for Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum
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Ben Stokes nurses another injury heading into 2025, while Jacob Bethell’s dazzling displays in New Zealand and the drop in form for Zak Crawley and Shoaib Bashir leave questions ahead of tests against India and the Ashes. England’s busiest year of Test cricket finished with a bang. Just not the type they were after.
![[England captain Ben Stokes has left the New Zealand tour frustrated]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/17/04/16-7454641310e243e3aa5fda72e4c8a2a7.jpg)
A 423-run defeat to New Zealand was England’s third-heaviest loss in Test cricket history. But somehow, only their second-heaviest loss of the year after a 434-run reverse against India in February. This is how his team plays. Maximum risk. Maximum reward. When you bat at a million miles an hour to give yourself as much time as possible to take twenty wickets, the reverse is you also give the opposition more time to rack up the runs if you’ve failed with the bat yourself. England got bundled for 143 in 35 overs in Hamilton. Which gave the Blackcaps as much time as they wanted to bat on and on and on. The result was New Zealand were able to set England a notional 658 to win. The highest successful chase in Test history is 418.
![[England’s Ben Stokes will hope to recover in time for the Test against Zimbabwe and India series next summer]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/18/08/2189311080.jpg)
And when it all comes out in the wash, after 17 Tests in 2024, England have won nine and lost eight. The England men’s Test cricket team. Achieving mediocrity in style. So with a blockbuster 2025 ahead, featuring a home series against India and a trip down under for the Ashes, is this team better than it was 12 months ago and what questions do they have to answer before India arrive in June.
![[Jacob Bethell of England bats during day four of the Third Test Match]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/18/08/2190295527.jpg)
