English team announced for the first test against New Zealand, Robinson returns, entry of 3 new players

NZ vs ENG Test Series: England has announced a 15-man squad for the first Test match against New Zealand, in which seamer Ollie Robinson has been included back after a two-year absence. The command of the team is in the hands of Ben Stokes. For this match which is going to start at Lord’s from June 4, 3 new players Emilio Gay, James Ryu and Sonny Baker have been included. This test will start from June 4 at Lord’s.

This match will be England’s first match after their poor performance in the Ashes. The return of the 32-year-old Robinson comes at a time when England are looking for a new leader for the bowling attack following the retirements of Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Chris Woakes, who has taken 76 wickets in 20 Test matches but was dropped from the team after the 2024 India tour due to fitness concerns.

Jack Crawley has been dropped from the team following a poor performance in the Ashes tour, opening the way for Durham’s Emilio to open alongside Ben Duckett. Emilio has rejected offers to play for West Indies and Italy. At the same time, the possibility of James, who has scored 12 first class centuries, playing as a reserve middle-order batsman is quite strong.

The 23-year-old Baker, after a difficult start to his international career, has joined the pace group of Robinson, Josh Tongue, Gus Atkinson and Matthew Fisher. Shoaib Bashir, who was overlooked during the Ashes, has been included in the squad and will compete for the spinner’s spot with leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed. Rehan Ahmed can play a Test match on his home ground for the first time.

England have also appointed Australian Marcus North as their new national selector, replacing Luke Wright. The team will reunite at Loughborough on 22 May ahead of the Lord’s Test. Rehan Ahmed and Jacob Bethel, who are currently playing in IPL 2026, will return to England after the completion of their matches with Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, as the IPL 2026 final is scheduled to be played on May 31.

England and New Zealand 3 test matches are to be played in this series between. The next match of the series will be played at Kennington Oval from June 17. The third match will start at Trent Bridge from 25th June.

Also read: England Cricket took a big step, Marcus North became the national selector of the men’s team.

England team for the first test

ben stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethel, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, James Ryu, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue.

IANS input