London: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Tuesday announced the 12-man squad for the three-match home series against New Zealand, scheduled to play at Lord’s from June 4 to 8.
A reduced squad could see right-arm fast bowler Ally Robinson play his first Test match since February 2024, while Durham top-order batsman Emilio Kay and Hampshire paceman Sonny Baker are expected to make their debuts.
Notably, England dropped three players from the 15-man squad announced earlier: James Reve, Rehan Ahmed and Matt Fisher.
England’s final XI will now be decided by their head coach Brendon McCullum, who hinted that the choice could come down to two pacers, Gus Atkinson and Baker, citing a poor weather forecast for the coming week.
“If all of a sudden it turns 35 degrees and it’s flat, we’ll decide whether we want that extra wind speed. Or we stick to what’s tried and tested at Lord’s and stick with the type of bowlers who extract some movement with some overhead conditions,” McCullum said.
“We’re very comfortable with the squad we’ve got. We’re confident in what we’re going to pick. It doesn’t guarantee us anything, but we think it will allow us the best chance against New Zealand at Lord’s. We want to stick with what we think we need in these conditions against this opposition.”
As a result, Shoaib Bashir, who was out of the England Test set-up since July last year, is expected to return to the playing XI.
“Bash, he has the ability to play more in a holding role in the first couple of days here at Lord’s,” McCullum said.
“Then as the game gets deeper, and there’s more spin, he can move into an attacking role.”
England Test XII for Lord’s Test against New Zealand:
Ben Stokes (catch), Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethel, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Emilio Kay, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (week) and Josh Dungu.