England have trimmed their original 15-man group by three players ahead of the first home Test against New Zealand at Lord’s, with the match set to begin on Thursday, June 4. The side had initially announced a 15-member squad that featured Somerset batter James Rew, leg spinner Rehan Ahmed and Surrey seamer Matthew Fisher—names now left out of the final selection.
England squad: Ben Stokes (C), Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue.
Two players without prior international Test experience have earned a spot in the last group of 12: Durham top-order batter Emilio Gay and Hampshire fast bowler Sonny Baker. Both could be in contention to make their debut at the famous venue. Gay’s inclusion follows England’s decision to part ways with opener Zak Crawley after a disappointing Ashes campaign.
With attention also on the possibility of Baker’s first Test outing, head coach Brendon McCullum offered strong praise for the quick. “Sonny Baker is quick. I believe he’s going to be a cricketer that the entire country gets behind when he does play. He comes in hard and leaves everything out there. He’s got full noise—he’s exciting. He swings the ball both ways and he’s clearly capable of reaching around 90 miles per hour. It’s an exciting option, and if his moment isn’t in this Test, then his time will come. If it is in this Test, I’d expect him to make a strong impact,” McCullum said.
England are also poised to bring Shoaib Bashir back into their XI. Bashir has not played a Test since the third match against India last July, which was also at Lord’s, where he suffered a broken finger. He then spent time around the group during the Ashes 2025-26.
McCullum expects Bashir to have a dual-use role in the opening days at Lord’s. “Bash has the ability to likely take on more of a holding responsibility in the first couple of days here at Lord’s,” McCullum said. “Then, as the game progresses—and if spin becomes more influential—he can shift further into an attacking role.”
Jofra Archer will not be available for this Test due to his commitments in the IPL, while Brydon Carse is still recovering from a wrist injury. With those constraints in place, England have kept Ollie Robinson in the 12. Robinson last played a Test for England in February 2024.
McCullum said he has kept his ultimate XI plans close to the vest, making his final decisions late and factoring in the weather. With showers forecast throughout the first Test, he indicated that England want the flexibility to react if conditions differ from what is expected. “There’s a bit of uncertainty around the conditions and the forecast over the next 48 hours,” McCullum noted. “We have a solid understanding of what we believe our XI will be, but we also want the ability to pivot if needed, should the conditions turn out slightly different to what we anticipate.”
Within the XI, England have also opted for a change to batting positions between wicketkeeper Jamie Smith and captain Ben Stokes. Smith has been pushed up to No. 6, with Stokes moving down to No. 6. The 25-year-old Smith averages 44 in Tests from No. 6 and 38 from a lower batting slot, while Stokes has faced difficult stretches with the bat recently, scoring an average of just 18 during the latest Ashes.
McCullum explained the logic behind the adjustment. “We think it’s a good balance—getting Jamie Smith more time batting alongside the specialist top order and the out-and-out batters. Then, if Stokesy ends up coming in with the tail, he has the experience, and he’s batted in those positions frequently,” McCullum said. “It’s a small tactical tweak. We’ll give it a go and see how it works out, but everyone is aligned with the idea.”
