As the Three Lions prepare to resume red-ball action against New Zealand at Lord’s on June 4, England Men’s head coach Brendon McCullum has all but confirmed that negotiations are in progress to move the batting positions of wicketkeeper Jamie Smith and all-rounder Ben Stokes.
Following the England captain’s recent batting comebacks, the transfer was made. During the previous winter’s 4-1 Ashes loss, he averaged 18.40 while scoring just 184 runs, but he was a consistent threat with the ball, taking 15 wickets at 25.13. In the summer 2025 home Test series against India, he reached his first century since 2023. Stokes has been a consistent player at number six with the bat since taking over as Test captain in 2022.
The captain of England has been recuperating from an adductor problem that occurred during the last Ashes Test. Nevertheless, a bizarre event in which he was hit by a ball in the nets and with a broken cheekbone postponed his recuperation and return to play for Durham in the 2026 County Championship. In May, he finally made a comeback to action, bowling first-change in the next game after taking the new ball.
Smith, who scored 211 runs at 23.44 during the Ashes, is now in the running in the 2026 County Championship with 450 runs at 50.00, including two hundreds at number three. He is anticipated to start at number six, with Stokes at number seven, after averaging more than 40 in his 20 caps for the Three Lions. The England captain is also open to the change as he concentrates on a more bowling-heavy role, according to.
“There are conversations we are having around switching Jamie Smith and Stokesy around. Both are brilliant players when they’re at their best” McCullum confirmed, speaking at a Rothesay sponsors event, as reported by.
“They’re free-flowing, when they’re going well. It’s how we get the best out of those two based on the group around them and what’s required. That’s certainly a conversation we are having. Not quite yet [decided], but more leaning towards it,” he added.
Following the disappointing Ashes series in Australia, England too has a number of absences and choices to make. Jofra Archer is one of those significant absences since the speedster’s bowling workload needs to be controlled whenever he returns from the IPL. As the Rajasthan Royals were defeated in Qualifier 2 on May 29, Archer was at the top of his game in the IPL, taking 25 wickets in 16 games.
Given that the speedster is expected to miss at least the first Test, McCullum said he had little say in the matter.
“It’s the world we live in at the moment, right? It’s not really up to me whether he’s available for those times or not. But one thing I do want us to have is Jofra Archer available for as much cricket as we possibly can across all three formats, for as long as we can moving forward,” he said.
McCullum said that prodigy Jacob Bethell, who returned early from the IPL owing to a finger injury sustained while fielding, is anticipated to be fit to play at number three. With Rehan Ahmed playing for the Lions against South Africa A, Shoaib Bashir, who was benched prior to the Ashes when England opted to use Will Jacks as their spinner, is anticipated to take over as the primary spinner.
