Zak Crawley dropped as England announce squad for 1st test against New Zealand
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The England vs New Zealand 1st test will start on June 4.
England are set to clash with New Zealand in a three-match test series. After a brutal 4-1 defeat in The Ashes earlier this year, England will aim to bounce back against the Kiwis by taking advantage of the home conditions.
The 1st test will commence on June 4 at The Lord’s, London. The second match will be played from June 17 to 21 at Kennington Oval, while the third game will take place from June 25 to 29 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
Both teams will look to improve their position in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle. England are placed eighth in the WTC points table with a win percentage of 31.67 and will aim to better their rankings in the upcoming series.
New Zealand are placed second with a win percentage of 77.78, with two victories and one draw game against the West Indies.
England announced their squad for 1st test
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have announced their 15-member squad for the opening test against New Zealand. Opening batter Zak Crawley has been dropped from the squad, which includes three uncapped players: Emilio Gay, Sonny Baker, and James Rew.
Rehan Ahmed, Matthew Fisher and Ollie Robinson have made a comeback to the test team. Jofra Archer is unavailable for the first test as he continues to play for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2026. Key members like Gus Atkinson, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, and Josh Tongue are part of the squad.
The squad will participate in the training camp on May 24. Rehan Ahmed and Jacob Bethell will return to England after completing their commitments in IPL 2026.
England squad for 1st test against New Zealand: Ben Stokes (C), 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.
What is England’s squad for 1st test vs New Zealand?
England’s squad: Ben Stokes (C), 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.
How many tests will be played between England and New Zealand?
Three tests will take place between the two teams.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.