Why England are taking a major gamble by picking Ollie Robinson

There are several eye-catching selections in England’s 15-man squad for the first Test of the summer against New Zealand on June 4, but none quite as contentious as the recall of Ollie Robinson.

After more than two years in exile, Robinson has been given a chance to prove he is fit enough to lead the Test attack, beating off competition from Sam Cook and Matthew Potts. At 32, this will almost certainly be his final crack at the highest level, with managing director Rob Key insisting: ‘When he’s fit and at his best, Ollie Robinson is one of the best bowlers in the world.’

There is little doubt about his pedigree: 76 Test wickets at under 23 tell you that. And there is equally little about his confidence: more than once this summer, he has claimed he still has no idea why Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum moved on from him after the tour of India in early 2024.

But the argument will be settled only when he embarks on his third spell of a hot day against the New Zealanders, in a game where he will not be able to manage his workloads as he has been doing as captain of Sussex.

Is he still fit enough for the rigours of Test cricket? Picking his England team last week on the Farby and Friends podcast with Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace, the club’s batting coach Grant Flower said: ‘We all know how good he is. But with his workloads and fitness… at this stage I don’t think he’s ready for the first Test.’ Farbrace replied: ‘I don’t disagree.’

But Key, who played down suggestions Robinson had been ‘disruptive’ during a career that has so far amounted to 20 Tests, said: ‘You just want to be able to trust you know what you’re going to get. You need to show that you can maintain your skill and speed throughout the game. That’s what we require, and that’s what he’s done.’

Ollie Robinson is in line to play his first Test for two-and-a-half years after returning to the England side to face New Zealand this summer

Who opens the batting?

England’s new national selector Marcus North has made his presence felt early, successfully arguing for Emilio Gay – the top-order batsman he brought to Durham from Northamptonshire two years ago – to get the nod over county team-mate Ben McKinney.

Key feels Gay has kicked on in the last year, with seven hundreds in 22 first-class games for his new county, and worked hard on his game against spin with Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara. 

Three of those hundreds have come this summer, as well an average of 92. Somerset’s James Rew is in the squad, but as the spare batsman and reserve wicketkeeper, in case Jamie Smith breaks a finger.

What about the rest of the seam attack?

Gus Atkinson is likeliest to share the new ball with Robinson, despite suffering concussion at the hands of Test colleague Josh Tongue when Surrey met Nottinghamshire last week. 

That has ruled Atkinson out of Surrey’s trip to Headingley on Friday to face Yorkshire, but he could make up for that absence by turning out for the Lions against South Africa A at Arundel on May 22 – two days before the Test squad convene in Loughborough.

Key said Stokes was also a new-ball contender after he opened the attack for Durham against Worcestershire last week. Neither did he rule out Josh Tongue.

Jofra Archer will come into contention later in the summer once he has returned from the IPL and got some red-ball overs into his system. Key said the fact that he was missing Test cricket to play in a franchise league was ‘the world we live in at the moment’.

Surrey’s Matt Fisher, who played his lone Test in Barbados four years ago, and Hampshire’s uncapped quick Sonny Baker are likely to miss out on the final XI.

Emilio Gay has won his first call-up after a fast start to the season with Durham, hitting three centuries

Sonny Baker is set for a first senior Test call after previously impressing for England Lions

Is this the end for Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope?

Key likes to say that no one is ever ruled out indefinitely, but he said Crawley’s poor start to the season with Kent, where he has been averaging below 20, had cost him, and admitted Crawley ‘knew what was coming’. 

Key added that he had an ‘opportunity to go away and find a way of becoming an out-and-out runscorer’.

Pope was dropped after three Tests in Australia, but now has the unenviable task of breaking into a middle order that includes Joe Root and Harry Brook.

Any changes to the backroom staff?

With fielding coach Carl Hopkinson working with Mumbai Indians at the IPL, England have drafted in the former international wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor to do the job during the three-match New Zealand series – the first woman to take on a coaching role in the men’s team.

‘She’s done a lot of work with England Lions,’ said Key. ‘We’ve been unbelievably impressed with her and the way that she goes about her business.’