England's cricket team has appointed Marcus North as the new national selector and announced a revamped test squad following a disappointing Ashes series. Key changes include dropping Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope for the upcoming series against New Zealand.
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Changes were inevitable in England's test team after the McCullum-Stokes era hit a new low in the most recent Ashes. It means there is a fresh look to the squad ahead of the three-test home series against New Zealand, with opener Zak Crawley and No. 3 Ollie Pope dropped for first test starting June 4 and three uncapped players selected. Two of them are opener Emilio Gay, who has been playing limited-overs internationals for Italy â where his mother was born â over the past two years, and wicketkeeper-batter James Rew. With Chris Woakes joining James Anderson and Stuart Broad in retiring, Mark Wood and Brydon Carse injured, and Jofra Archer unavailable because of T20 commitments, England's fast-bowling stocks are currently low. Matthew Fisher, whose sole test appearance came in 2022, was called up along with 23-year-old Sonny Baker, the third uncapped player in the squad. Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue are the more senior pace options. The squad selection is just for the first test. \\_ 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. \\_ AP cricket:
Marcus North, a former Australian batter, has been appointed as the new national selector.
Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope were dropped, and three uncapped players, including Emilio Gay and James Rew, were selected for the first test against New Zealand.
North was appointed to address criticisms of selectors ignoring county form, particularly after England's 4-1 loss to Australia in the Ashes.
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