LONDON (AP) — Captain Tom Latham won the toss and chose to unleash New Zealand's intimidating pace attack against England on a partly cloudy Thursday morning in the test series opener at Lord's.
New Zealand saved fast bowlers Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson and Will O'Rourke from the three-day warmup win over Ireland in Belfast last week. Jamieson and O'Rourke, both at least 1.97 meters (6-foot-4) tall, are bowling together in a test for the first time after long-term back injuries.
Nathan Smith, who took eight Ireland wickets, was the fourth seamer.
Glenn Phillips also got the nod ahead of Mitchell Santner, who was passed fit quicker than expected after a shoulder injury.
England is debuting recent Italy Twenty20 international Emilio Gay, the in-form Durham opening batter.
Uncapped Hampshire pacer Sonny Baker dropped out of the 12 to confirm Gus Atkinson in a seam attack with captain Ben Stokes, Josh Tongue and the recalled Ollie Robinson. Robinson's last test was in 2024.
It is England's first test since losing the Ashes series 4-1 in Australia in January.
Lineups:
England: Emilio Gay, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Ben Stokes (captain), Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.
New Zealand: Tom Latham (captain), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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