Stokes hails Robinson and Gay as England win at Lord’s

Ben Stokes praised Ollie Robinson’s seven-wicket return and Emilio Gay’s 57 on debut as England opened the international summer with a 115-run Test victory over New Zealand at Lord’s, explaining the behind-the-scenes conversations that led to Robinson’s recall

Ben Stokes could already sense the scale of the moment before the handshake—this wasn’t just another Test on the calendar, it was the one England had to get right after last winter’s Ashes setback.

So when England began the international summer at Lord’s with a 115-run victory over New Zealand. the captain didn’t hide behind generic praise. Instead. he singled out the two new faces who swung the balance in different ways: Ollie Robinson. back after a two-year exile. and debutant Emilio Gay. thrust into a difficult top-order assignment.

Robinson’s impact was immediate and loud. He celebrated his return by taking seven wickets—earning man of the match recognition—and still contributed valuable runs with the bat during the innings. Stokes made it clear that Robinson’s talent was never the question. but that England’s decision-makers had pushed for tangible growth after his recall.

“Ollie Robinson’s skill has never been in question,” Stokes said. “There’s just a few other things that we’d obviously spoken about behind the scenes that we wanted to see him go away and improve on and he’s obviously gone away and done that.”

Stokes stressed that what impressed him most as a leader wasn’t only what Robinson produced on the field. but the mindset he brought this week. “But the pleasing thing for me. as captain. and a leader in the group. is the way that he’s spoken about this week. ” he continued. “It would have been very easy to rest on his laurels when everything’s gone so well for him. The language he’s used is it being just a start, and there being a lot more hard work to do.”.

Stokes summed up the value of that attitude with a simple message to England: the more Robinson plays, the better. “The more Ollie Robinson has an England shirt on his back, the better it is for us because he’s an outstanding bowler.”

Gay’s selection, meanwhile, came after Zak Crawley was axed, and it placed England in a familiar position on a Lord’s pitch that can punish uncertainty. Stokes said the decision gave England “greater solidity at the top of the order” on a day when the ground itself offered a lottery.

On debut, Gay responded with a top score of 57 in the second innings—runs Stokes framed as exactly the kind of contribution that builds confidence early in an international career. He told Gay, before he’d even fully settled, what the challenge really looked like.

“I said to Emilio, that’s at the high end of challenge that an opening batter is going to be exposed,” Stokes explained. “So, you’re better off getting it early on, so you can understand how tough it is.”

For Stokes, the fact Gay made a “significant contribution at the top of the order” mattered beyond the scoreline. “will do wonders for his confidence,” he said, pointing directly to the human benefit that comes when debut nerves meet serious batting time.

England’s 1-0 lead in the three-match series brought its own pressure, and Stokes admitted that the stakes had been obvious in advance. “I’m not going to lie. I knew how big this game was in terms of the result and how it was going to be perceived externally if it didn’t go well.”

Ben Stokes Ollie Robinson Emilio Gay England vs New Zealand Lord's Test 115-run victory Ashes debut man of the match seven wickets Zak Crawley