Woakes replaces Bresnan for NZ

Chris Woakes has been selected in an England Test squad for the first time © Getty Images

Chris Woakes has been selected ahead of Tim Bresnan in England's 15-man squad for the three Test series in New Zealand.

The omission of Eoin Morgan and Samit Patel are the other changes from the squad that beat India 2-1 before Christmas.

Woakes, Warwickshire's 23-year-old swing bowling allrounder, has played seven ODIs and three T20s for England but is yet to make his Test debut.

He has an excellent record at domestic level - a first-class batting average of 38.25 and first-class bowling average of 25.56 - and, despite a concern about the lack of pace in his bowling, has an ability to swing the ball both ways that could prove valuable in New Zealand. He recently had a brief stint with Wellington in New Zealand domestic cricket and claimed four wickets in two first-class matches at a cost of 57.50 apiece.

Bresnan, who has struggled to recapture his potency since an elbow operation in December 2011, will instead have the elbow assessed to see if any further treatment is required. Before the operation, Bresnan's Test bowling average was 23.60. Since the operation it is 55.43.

"We have a busy international summer ahead of us and the medical team felt this was an ideal opportunity for Tim Bresnan to take some time out to ensure his elbow is functioning effectively," Geoff Miller, England national selector, said. "Chris Woakes has impressed on the England Performance Programme and with England Lions and Warwickshire in recent years as well as with England in the limited overs formats. This is a good opportunity for him to gain further experience in the international environment."

England also announced that Craig Kieswetter has been dropped from the one-day squad and will return to Somerset to prepare for the new domestic season. Kieswetter has played 46 ODIs and 25 T20s for England, averaging 30.11 and 21.91 respectively.

"Craig has had an extended opportunity in ODI and T20 cricket," Miller said. "He has shown evidence of delivering performances on the international stage however we don't feel these have been delivered consistently enough. As we look forward to the Champions Trophy and Cricket World Cup in 2015 we will look to explore other options.

"The door is not closed to Craig, and he can fight his way back into contention for international selection through consistent high performances with Somerset."

Joe Root, Woakes and James Harris have been added to the ODI squad for the three-match series against New Zealand. Root's call-up means James Taylor has been appointed captain of the England Lions tour to Australia, for which Rikki Clarke, at the age of 31, has been called-up. The squad will play a series of limited-overs games in February.

Clarke has enjoyed a resurgence since joining Warwickshire for the 2009 season. Last year he averaged 32.14 with the bat and 18.00 with the ball in List A cricket. He played two Tests - both against Bangladesh -and 20 ODIs between 2003 and 2006.

England Test squad
Alastair Cook (capt), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Nick Compton, Steven Finn, Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Joe Root, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott, Chris Woakes

England T20 squad
Stuart Broad (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Michael Lumb, Stuart Meaker, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, James Tredwell, Chris Woakes, Luke Wright

England ODI squad
Alastair Cook (capt), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, James Harris, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Joe Root, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Jonathan Trott, Chris Woakes

England Lions squad
James Taylor (capt), Gary Ballance, Scott Borthwick, Danny Briggs, Varun Chopra, Rikki Clarke, Matthew Coles, Ben Foakes, Alex Hales, Simon Kerrigan, Stuart Meaker, Craig Overton, Toby Roland-Jones, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, James Vince, Chris Wright

George Dobell is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo

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