England have named their squad for the first Test against New Zealand, with maiden call-ups given to Sonny Baker and Emilio Gay.
The first Test begins on June 4 at Lord’s, with England including a couple of fresh faces and handing comebacks to a few others in their first series since the Ashes disaster. The side will be led by Ben Stokes, who retains his role after the 1-4 defeat Down Under.
England drop Zak Crawley, Emilio Gay called up
The biggest omission is that of opener Zak Crawley. Crawley’s extended lean patch has meant England have moved on, for now. Since the start of last year, he averages 34.35 with one hundred, against Zimbabwe. He crossed 50 twice in the Ashes, ending the tour with an average of 27.30. His misfortunes have continued in the ongoing County Championship as well, where he is yet to score a fifty from 10 innings, averaging 19.50.
Gay’s rise at the same time has sealed his place. The Durham opener has three hundreds in the season from eight outings, averaging nearly 70, and is set to open alongside Ben Duckett, who holds onto his place after his unbeaten 203 for Nottinghamshire in the most recent round.
James Rew also makes a comeback to the squad, having being called up for the first time in the Zimbabwe Tests.
Sonny Baker set for debut, Ollie Robinson returns after two years
The squad is also headlined by the return of Robinson, who, most recently, was namechecked by Mark Butcher as England’s “best bowler”. The pacer last played for England during the 2024 Test series against India, where he continued to struggle with injuries. Robinson, however, has shown signs of improving his workload in the County Championship, where he has bowled 147.3 overs across five matches.
The 23-year-old Baker, who has 14 wickets at 26.21 this season, also gets a call-up.
England’s squad for 1st Test vs New Zealand
Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, James Rew, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue.
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