England drop Crawley, pick Gay to open and recall Robinson

LONDON, May 13 : England have dropped opener Zak Crawley and selected Emilio Gay as Ben Duckett's likely opening partner in a reshaped squad for the first test against New Zealand, signalling the start of a rebuild after their 4-1 Ashes thrashing in Australia.

Durham's Gay, 26, earned his opportunity after impressive County Championship form including three centuries. Uncapped fast bowler Sonny Baker and wicketkeeper-batter James Rew were also included and there was a recall for seamer Ollie Robinson after two years out.

England host New Zealand for three tests in June before taking on India in eight limited-overs matches followed by three tests against Pakistan.

Ollie Pope, axed ahead of the third test in Australia, was not recalled to the squad, and Crawley was omitted after a poor start to the County Championship season.

Pace bowler Gus Atkinson was named despite being struck twice on the helmet while batting for Surrey against Nottinghamshire on Sunday.

England are without Jofra Archer, who is on Indian Premier League duty, creating an opening for Baker. Pace bowler Matt Fisher, who was added to England's Ashes squad when Mark Wood was ruled out, retained his place.

The squad reflects a shift in direction under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum as England look to reset ahead of a busy home summer, which begins at Lord's on June 4.

England men's managing director Rob Key said Robinson, who has 76 test wickets from 20 matches at an impressive average of 22.92, had the opportunity to be the leader of England's attack.

"When he's fit and bowling at a decent pace for him, which is around 82, 83 miles an hour, he is world-class," Key said. "When you look at his record, he is right up there statistically in all the