Gus Atkinson made his Test Debut during the last match against James Anderson. In that match, the pacer claimed 12 wickets. He followed up the initial heroics with yet another five-wicket haul (5/61) as England recorded an innings win by 114 runs

Brendon McCullum said Test captain Ben Stokes is fine with him extending his tenure and also stated that he is keen to see if the skipper can extend his white-ball career. Stokes retired from ODIs but featured in the 2023 World Cup in India. Earlier, he opted out of the T20 World Cup 2024 to shift his focus to Test cricket