England have added Dom Bess to their squad for the second Test against New Zealand at Edgbaston. Bess, the off spinning allrounder, has been called-up to provide cover for Jack Leach. "The reason we've added Dom is that any cover we may need has to be in here with us," Chris Silverwood, the England coach, said. "If Jack was to feature, we would need back-up for him in terms of concussion replacements and things like that. "If we are looking at playing a spinner and Jack were to get injured leading into the game, then we will need someone else there as well. It's making sure we cover that." Are we expecting a spinning wicket? We will see when we get there, but I'm making sure we've got every base covered."
Bess arrived in Birmingham on Sunday night, having taken four wickets earlier in the day to help Yorkshire to victory in their County Championship game against Sussex. After two days of managed isolation and testing, he will be free to train with the rest of the squad on Wednesday. In summing up England's performance at Lord's, Silverwood admitted his batsmen suffered from a lack of discipline during their first innings. At one stage they were reduced to 140 for 6 with a number of the players offering up loose shots. "I felt we showed a lack of discipline at times, with shot management, and we paid the price for that," he said. "It's something we addressed, we talked about in the dressing room. One thing I am keen for this team to do is face problems and grab a difficult day." England's decision to rest a number of their IPL players meant the top seven at Lord's had just two players over 25 years of age and the inexperience showed during that first innings, particularly in the shots of Zak Crawley and Dan Lawrence. "The only way we get experience is by playing," Silverwood said. "The talent is there. I have spent a lot of time with these guys. The one thing Covid has given me is time with them, living in the bubble, watching them, talking to them, seeing them train. I know there's a lot of talent there. The one thing we need is to get experience into them, and this is an opportunity to do that. The second test will begin on June 10 at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
