Berliner Abendpost - Stokes fit to captain England against Zimbabwe

The 33-year-old all-rounder has been recovering from hamstring surgery after breaking down in New Zealand in December, his second hamstring tear in five months.

Stokes has not featured for county side Durham so far this season but is set to skipper England in their opening Test of their home season, which is a four-day game rather than the standard five, at Trent Bridge from May 22 to 25.

Uncapped Essex seamer Sam Cook is also in the squad and could be in line for a Test debut in Nottingham with pacemen Mark Wood and Brydon Carse injured.

Cook, 27, has taken 318 first-class wickets at an impressive average of under 20 and impressed on the recent second-string England Lions tour of Australia, with 13 wickets in three matches.

Cook is one of two uncapped players in the squad, together with Essex team-mate Jordan Cox.

Nottinghamshire paceman Josh Tongue will hope to make a return to Test action on his home ground, having last featured for England during the 2023 Ashes.

It will be Zimbabwe's first Test in England since 2003 and marks the start of a busy home summer for Stokes's team, with England facing India in a five-Test series before the 2025/26 Ashes in Australia.

England squad

Ben Stokes (capt), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wkt), Josh Tongue

B.Schneider--BlnAP