England announced its 12-player squad for the first Test against New Zealand, which begins at Lord’s on Thursday.
Shoaib Bashir has been picked as first-choice spinner despite not featuring in the entire Ashes series.
Ollie Robinson makes his return to the Test squad for the first time since February 2024 while spinner Rehan Ahmed has been dropped.
Two uncapped players, top-order batsman Emilio Gay and fast bowler Sonny Baker, were included.
Zak Crawley has been dropped following his poor performance during the Ashes while fast bowler Jofra Archer has been left out after featuring in the recent Indian Premier League.
England is playing its first Test series since losing the Ashes 4-1 to Australia.
England is playing a three-Test series against New Zealand with matches at The Oval and Trent Bridge to follow later this month.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Ben Stokes (captain), Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Josh Tongue.
Published on Jun 02, 2026
