England have reduced their 15-man selection by three players, for the first home Test against New Zealand at Lord's, starting on Thursday (June 4). England had previously named a 15-member squad which included the now-omitted trio of Somerset batter James Rew, leg spinner Rehan Ahmed and Surrey seamer Matthew Fisher.

England squad:Ben Stokes (C), Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue

Two uncapped players - Durham's top-order batter Emilio Gay and Hampshire pacer Sonny Baker, have made it to the final 12, and could be in line to debut at the iconic venue. Gay comes into the picture after England chose to drop opener Zak Crawley following a poor Ashes series. Speaking of the excitement around the other potential debutant, Sonny Baker, McCullum was effusive in his praise. "Sonny Baker is quick. I think he's going be a cricketer the country really gets behind when he does play. He charges in and he leaves everything out there.

"He's full noise. He's exciting. He swings the ball both ways and he's obviously got the ability to touch 90mph. He's an exciting proposition, and his time, if it's not in this Test, his time will come. If it is in this Test, I'd expect him to do a good job," McCullum added.

England also look set to welcome Shoaib Bashir back into their XI. The spinner hasn't played a Test since the third fixture against India last July, also at Lord's, where he suffered a broken finger. He then warmed the benches during the Ashes 2025-26. England head coach Brendon McCullum expects a dual role for his lead spinner in the first fixture.

"Bash, he has the ability to probably play more of a holding role in the first couple days here at Lord's," McCullum said. "Then as the game deepens, and if spin becomes more prevalent, then he can go more into an attacking role."

With Jofra Archer not available for this fixture due to his IPL commitments and Brydon Carse still recovering from a wrist injury, England have retained Ollie Robinson in the 12. The fast bowler last played a Test for England in February 2024.

McCullum kept his final XI plans close to his chest, leaving his final calls till the very end based on the weather conditions. There are showers expected all through the first Test.

"There is a little bit of jeopardy around the conditions and the forecast over the next 48 hours," McCullum said. "We have a strong understanding of what we think will be our XI, but we do want to have the ability to pivot if required, if the conditions turn out to be slightly different to what we anticipate."

Within the XI, England have decided to swap batting positions of wicketkeeper Jamie Smith and Ben Stokes, pushing the former up to No.6 while the England skipper will drop down to No. 7. The 25-year-old Smith has a Test average of 44 from No.6 and 38 from a spot below, while Stokes has recently endured tough batting spells, averaging just 18 in the last Ashes.