England Drops Zak Crawley, Appoints Marcus North as National Selector Ahead of New Zealand Test

England have dropped opening batter Zak Crawley from their squad for the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's next month. The squad announcement comes after England’s 4-1 Ashes defeat to Australia and a review of the team’s setup. England also confirmed the appointment of former Australia batter Marcus North as national selector. It is the first time a foreigner has been appointed to the role. England said North "will contribute to the selection of all England men's squads" from the senior team to youth programmes. North has a long association with English domestic cricket, having represented six county teams. Since 2018, he has served as director of cricket at Durham County Cricket Club, where he has also worked closely with England Test captain Ben Stokes. England selectors had faced criticism from some former players and pundits for overlooking county performances while selecting the national side. That debate gained more attention after the Ashes loss. England are already coached by New Zealand-born coach Brendon McCullum. North replaces Luke Wright, who spent three years in the role. Crawley and Pope dropped Changes were expected after England’s humiliating Ashes campaign under Stokes and McCullum. Along with Crawley, No. 3 batter Ollie Pope has also been left out of the squad for the first Test, which begins on June 4. England have included three uncapped players in the squad, while fast bowler Ollie Robinson returns after a two-year absence. Crawley struggled during the 2025-26 Ashes tour, scoring 273 runs in 10 innings at an average of 27.30. He has also not scored consistently for Kent County Cricket Club in Division Two of the County Championship this season. This is the first time since Stokes and McCullum took charge of the Test side in 2022 that Crawley has been dropped from the squad while fully available for selection. Among the new faces are opener Emilio Gay and wicketkeeper-batter James Rew. Gay has also represented Italy in limited-overs internationals over the past two years through his mother’s Italian roots. England’s pace-bowling resources are currently limited. Chris Woakes has joined James Anderson and Stuart Broad in retirement, while Mark Wood and Brydon Carse are injured. Jofra Archer is unavailable because of T20 commitments. Fast bowlers Matthew Fisher and Sonny Baker have been called up, with Baker yet to make his Test debut. Gus Atkinson, Robinson and Josh Tongue are the more experienced pace options in the squad. The selection announced by England is only for the first Test of the three-match series.Squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, James Rew, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue.