Dom Bess added to squad ahead of second NZ Test

England have added Yorkshire off-spinner Dom Bess to the squad for the second Test against New Zealand at Edgbaston which begins on Thursday.

Although Jack Leach, England's first choice spinner, is fit and available for the game, head coach Chris Silverwood said Bess had been called-up to provide cover in case injury strikes in the lead-up to the match or as a Covid or concussion substitute during the Test itself. Given the current restrictions in place, players have to be within the England bubble to play. Bess' inclusion ensures England have two spinners in the party.

It is an indication that England are seriously considering playing Leach at Edgbaston after leaving him out at Lord's although Silverwood would not be drawn on that at the end of the first Test. "We will see when we get there but I'm making sure we've got every base covered," he said. Bess arrived at the team hotel on Sunday (June 6) evening and will go through 48 hours of managed isolation. If all goes to plan, he will train with the squad on Wednesday (June 9).

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.

"On the plus side, we saw Rory Burns come back in after being left out in India, show a lot of character. I thought he played beautifully and was really pleased to see him get his hundred. Then [Dom] Sibley in the second innings, I thought he showed a lot of discipline and guts to stick in. He showed us how stubborn he can be, which is why he's there."

In the end, England decided not to try and chase down the target set for them by Kane Williamson on the final afternoon. The equation of 273 runs in 75 overs certainly appeared a generous declaration but England never really looked in the hunt. Silverwood said his team wanted to try and get themselves into a position to have a crack in the final session but were unable to do that given the conditions and the quality of New Zealand's bowling.

"They made it very difficult," Silverwood said. "They swung the ball throughout the game and the seam bowlers in particular held their lengths very well. It was very difficult to score. The scoring rate wasn't much above three anyway. At the same time we thought that if we could get ourselves in a position we may be able to push the button. Unfortunately we didn't find ourselves in that position so we had to make sure we saw the game through. I thought Dominic Sibley did a great job of doing that, and showed great resilience."

Off the field, Silverwood had to break the news to Ollie Robinson at the end of play on day one that racist and sexist tweets he sent as an 18 year-old had been made public. "Obviously [he was] devastated," Silverwood said. "Embarrassed, and very remorseful. He was very quick to take on board what had happened. He apologised whole-heartedly to the dressing room. He came out and apologised to the rest of the world too, which he had to. He had to face up to this.

"It was very disappointing. What should have been one of the greatest days of Ollie's career didn't end up well for him. It was disappointing for the group. It was a stark reminder for us all the responsibilities that we hold in the position that we are in. There is absolutely no place in this game for any form of discrimination whatsoever. He showed a lot of remorse, he apologised publicly, he apologised to the dressing room.

"I think it's been a really big learning for him. The big thing for us all is education. We are all striving to be better, none of us are perfect, and we all need to make sure we are learning all the time. We can make sure the world is a better place. Most importantly, we can work hard to ensure that this great game is inclusive for everybody and there's no form of discrimination whatsoever."