England juggle cricket’s new order ahead of fascinating summer

You know what. It’s all right. English cricket has enough days when toys can be thrown out of the pram, that when a mostly uncontentious one ticks past, you take it as a win.

The headline news from England naming their new Test squad for their new Test era ahead of the first Test against New Zealand starting on Thursday 4 June at Lord’s is that 26-year-old Emilio Gay will replace Zak Crawley at the top of the order. A dream selection for England in that it satisfies all parties. Gay has long been thought of as a high-ceiling player, with the attributes to succeed at the next level. What’s more, he has the domestic runs to show for it as well as strong performances for the England Lions against India last year and Australia over the winter. In short, England think he’s good. What a novel situation to find ourselves in.

But aside from that, England’s big announcement has seen them rip off their trousers, to reveal another pair of trousers. Familiar faces such as Ollie Robinson, who played the last of his 20 Test matches two years ago, is back. He’ll take the new ball, having improved on the fitness issues that troubled him.

“What we said to him, and publicly, is when he’s fit and bowling at a decent pace for him, around 82 or 83mph, he is world class,” said managing director Rob Key upon the announcement.

In the spin department, Shoaib Bashir, after a promising, but not earth-shattering start to life at Derbyshire, has been named in the squad along with Rehan Ahmed, when one train of thought would have been to leave Bashir be and let him flourish. Bashir is still only 22 and has experienced a bizarre, if not mentally tortuous, career. Plucked from nowhere to play for England in 2024, he was prepped for two years for the Ashes, only to be considered borderline unselectable. Now, a couple months later and with a few tweaks to his action, he’s back. If you get the chance, source out his wicket celebrations for Derbyshire. He’s playing with a smile on his face and a fist pump that registers on the Richter scale. You can only hope that this latest selection goes well.

Elsewhere, there is a maiden Test call-up for Hampshire fast bowler Sonny Baker, who has impressed with his high skill and ability to surge past 90mph, while the uncapped James Rew, 22, is in as the spare batter and back-up wicketkeeper.

Player selections aside, there was one historic appointment. And one absence that illustrates the increasing power imbalance between franchise and international cricket that threatens the fabric of the sport.

The first, in the positive column, is the quiet ascension of Sarah Taylor to fielding coach, making her the most senior female coach ever of an England men’s side.

“She’s one of the best in the business at what she does,” Key said when asked of the significance of the moment. Taylor, 36, played more than 200 times for England and was regarded as one of the best wicketkeepers in the world during her career. Since 2024, she has been on the England Lions coaching staff.

“She’s worked a lot with Andrew Flintoff [Lions head coach] and Ed Barney [England performance director],” Key said. “They can’t speak highly enough of her.”

The second, in the negative column, is the quiet omission of Jofra Archer, who will miss the first Test against New Zealand due to his IPL commitments.

Archer has his hands tied. He pulled out of the 2025 IPL when England were keen to manage his workloads, and had he again returned from this year’s competition early, tournament rules would have seen him banned for two years. His annual contract with the Rajasthan Royals is worth £1.2m. His England central contract, designed to prevent situations like this from happening, is reportedly worth roughly £1m. The sub-contract has become the main contract.

“That’s the world we live in,” Key said with an air of resignation.

Archer’s absence will hurt England. Because while this summer has been billed as an off-Broadway year, with the two touring Test teams being New Zealand and Pakistan as opposed to India or Australia, the cricket will nevertheless be excellent and the atmospheres also.

New Zealand are a very good team, described by Key as the “strongest” side he can remember them bringing to this country. Their seam attack is excellent. They have one of the greatest players of this generation in Kane Williamson at three, and potentially one of the best players of the next generation in Rachin Ravindra, at four. Pakistan, who tour later in the year, are weaker. But with Test matches in Leeds, London and Birmingham, they will be well supported and it will make for fascinating events.

“We have to understand where our priorities are,” said ECB CEO Richard Gould earlier this year. “And our priorities are largely with winning the Ashes and Test series against India.”

We do ourselves down too often in cricket. Because while more eyes will undoubtedly watch when Australia or India come to town, that’s maybe because we say it’s better, rather than it actually being better.

A great, high-pressure, high-quality summer of cricket lies ahead. And Emilio Gay will be facing the first ball of it.

Photograph by Stu Forster/Getty Images