Cook in line for England debut after squad call-up

Sam Cook was rested for Essex's County Championship match against Worcestershire last month at England's request

Essex bowler Sam Cook is in line for an England debut after being named in the squad for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge.

The 27-year-old, the outstanding seamer in domestic cricket in recent seasons, gets his chance in an inexperienced attack missing a number of players through injuries.

Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Brydon Carse and Olly Stone are all absent, while Jofra Archer continues his long route back to red-ball cricket at the Indian Premier League (IPL).

It means England begin a defining year of Test cricket, including marquee series against India and Australia, with a fresh-looking pace attack.

Along with Cook, Nottinghamshire seamer Josh Tongue returns almost two years after winning the last of his two caps.

Gus Atkinson, who has 11 caps, and Matthew Potts (10) are the other specialist seamers in the 13-man party.

A likely combination of Atkinson, Tongue and Cook in the XI on 22 May would have 13 caps between them, England's fewest in the pace attack at home since Zimbabwe's last Test in this country 22 years ago.

England have played only one home Test without at least one of Woakes, James Anderson or Stuart Broad in their XI since 2007.

England squad: Ben Stokes (Durham) - captain, Gus Atkinson (Surrey), Shoaib Bashir (Somerset), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Sam Cook (Essex), Jordan Cox (Essex), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Matthew Potts (Durham), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jamie Smith (Surrey), Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire)

In a squad containing no surprises, captain Ben Stokes is fit to lead after undergoing hamstring surgery at Christmas.

The match at Trent Bridge will be the all-rounder's first action since suffering the injury to his left leg in the final Test against New Zealand in December. There are likely to be limitations on how much the 33-year-old will bowl.

Uncapped Essex batter Jordan Cox, who missed out on a Test debut in New Zealand because of a broken thumb, also returns to the squad as cover for the top order.

Batter Jacob Bethell impressed in his first series in New Zealand but is at the IPL, so opener Zak Crawley and number-three Ollie Pope get the chance to cement their places. Shoaib Bashir is retained as the sole spinner.

England have made no secret of their desire for bowlers of high pace so Cook, an 'English style' seamer whose strengths lie in accuracy and movement, has had to wait for his chance.

The former Loughborough University student has taken 318 first-class wickets at an average below 20 and has played three times for England Lions, including on the tour of Australia earlier this year.

Realistically, Cook is competing for one spot in the first-choice XI with Woakes. The Warwickshire man is yet to play this season because of an ankle injury.

Another option would have been Dan Worrall, who played three one-day internationals and has now qualified to play for England, but the Surrey man has been overlooked.

Zimbabwe's last Test in the UK was in 2003, a series famous for the Test debut of Anderson, England's all-time leading wicket-taker.

England will be overwhelming favourites to win at Trent Bridge, though the Zimbabweans have just claimed a creditable 1-1 draw in Bangladesh. The five-Test series against India begins on 20 June at Headingley.

Highlights of all England's home international cricket and live coverage of The Hundred will be across BBC TV, iPlayer and the BBC Sport website, beginning with England women's T20 international against West Indies on 21 May.