England weigh up Test debut for Sonny Baker with one eye on the weather

England have announced a slimmed-down squad of 12 for the first match of the summer, against New Zealand at Lord’s starting on Thursday, postponing until the last minute a decision over whether to reward the “full noise” approach of Hampshire’s Sonny Baker with a Test debut.

The approach mirrors that at the first Ashes Test last November, when England announced a 12-man squad that featured both Mark Wood and Shoaib Bashir before opting in the end for Wood’s extra pace. On this occasion Bashir will play, having been preferred to Rehan Ahmed as the team’s frontline spinner, while Jacob Bethell is fit after a finger injury and also able to bowl if required.

Their final decision will be made with the benefit of the latest weather forecasts, with Baker likely to be preferred – probably in place of Gus Atkinson – only if the forecast for the weekend clears.

“We’ve got a very good idea of the XI we want,” the England head coach, Brendon McCullum, said. “But we want to see how the weather plays out, and we’ll work out whether we want the extra air speed if all of a sudden it becomes 35C and flattens out. Or we stick to what’s tried and tested at Lord’s and remain with more of the type of bowlers that’ll extract some movement with some overhead conditions. We’ll also play a spinner.

“We’re confident in what we’re going to pick, and we think it gives us the best opportunity against New Zealand at Lord’s. We want to stick to what we think is going to be required in these conditions against this opposition.”

Atkinson has excelled in his two previous Tests at Lord’s, taking 19 wickets at an average of 10.94. He also scored a century here against Sri Lanka in 2024, his only first-class hundred. The 23-year-old Baker made his Twenty20 and one-day international debuts last summer, with mixed results. “It’s that airspeed from him. He’s quick,” McCullum said.

“I think he’s going to be a cricketer that the country really gets behind too when he does play. He charges in, he leaves everything out there. Some guys have a bit more rhythmical component to their style. I think Sonny is full noise. He’s an exciting proposition and if it’s not in this Test his time will come.”