26-year-old left-handed top-order batter Emilio Gay, who represents Durham County Cricket Club in county cricket and has played three T20Is for Italy, is in line to make his Test debut for England cricket team at Lord’s Cricket Ground.
Gay was included in England’s 12-member squad on Tuesday (June 2) for the first Test of the three-match series against New Zealand cricket team, which is scheduled to be played from June 4 to 8 at the Home of Cricket.
In addition to Gay, uncapped fast bowler Sonny Baker has also been named in England’s 12-member squad for the series opener, along with Ollie Robinson, who returns to the Test squad for the first time since February 2024.
“England Men have named a 12-player squad for the first Rothesay Test against
New Zealand, which begins on Thursday at Lord’s. Durham top-order batter Emilio Gay and Hampshire pace bowler Sonny Baker, who are yet to be capped, are included. Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson returns to the England Test squad for the first time since February 2024,” the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a release.
The Test Summer is nearly here 🦁
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— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 2, 2026
Gay, who played three T20Is for Italy in 2025, has featured in 73 first-class matches and scored 4,702 runs. He has registered 13 centuries and 18 half-centuries in first-class cricket.
The left-hander has already scored three centuries in six matches for Durham in the ongoing 2026 edition of the County Championship Division Two. Only David Bedingham, who represents Durham in county cricket and South Africa at the international level, is ahead of him in the tournament’s run-scoring charts.
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old Baker has played 12 first-class matches and taken 41 wickets, in addition to scoring 61 runs. He has already represented England in one ODI and one T20I, making his international debut in September 2025.
England’s playing XlI for 1st Test against New Zealand: Emilio Gay, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (WK), Ben Stokes (C), Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir
