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.
At 32, this will almost certainly be his last chance to prove he is capable of repaying the faith the selectors have decided, after much agonising, to reinvest in him after he drove the management to distraction with his attitude and fitness on the tour of India in early 2024.
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 insisted he still has no idea why Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum moved on from him more than two years ago.
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 Test cricket? England are banking that he is, which is bad news for Sam Cook and Matthew Potts, for now at least.
Robinson is now set to take the new ball against the team – and at the venue – where his Test career began five years ago, and will share it with either Gus Atkinson or Ben Stokes, who opened the bowling for Durham against Worcestershire in the most recent round of County Championship matches.
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
Sonny Baker is set for a first senior Test call after previously impressing for England Lions
Emilio Gay has won his first call-up after a fast start to the season with Durham, hitting three centuries
| Lawrence Booth | Richard Gibson |
|---|---|
| 1. Ben Duckett | 1. Ben Duckett |
| 2. Emilio Gay | 2. Emilio Gay |
| 3. Jacob Bethell | 3. Jacob Bethell |
| 4. Joe Root | 4. Joe Root |
| 5. Harry Brook | 5. Harry Brook |
| 6. Ben Stokes (capt) | 6. Ben Stokes (capt) |
| 7. Jamie Smith | 7. Jamie Smith |
| 8. Rehan Ahmed | 8. Rehan Ahmed |
| 9. Ollie Robinson | 9. Gus Atkinson |
| 10. Gus Atkinson | 10. Josh Tongue |
| 11. Josh Tongue | 11. Sonny Baker |
| Also in squad: | Shoaib Bashir, Matthew Fisher, James Rew |
Surrey’s Matt Fisher, recalled to the squad four years after his lone Test cap, in Barbados, and Hampshire tearaway Sonny Baker will almost certainly have to wait. So too will Jofra Archer, who is currently at the IPL and has not played red-ball cricket since the Ashes. England want him to build up his workload first.
As revealed by Daily Mail Sport, Rehan Ahmed is set for a first home Test, though if England decide the Lord’s pitch will turn – which, let’s be honest, is unlikely – they could yet play Shoaib Bashir for what would be his first Test appearance since taking the winning wicket there against India last summer.
Durham’s Emilio Gay, meanwhile, has won the race to open with Ben Duckett – reward for a strong start to the county season in which he has scored three hundreds and kept at bay competition from club team-mate Ben McKinney.
At this stage, Somerset’s James Rew looks like the spare batsman, but his selection – as well as that of Gay – suggests England have been true to their pledge of paying more attention to the county game.
