England’s red-ball cricket team made a significant change by removing experienced wicketkeepers Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes from their squad for the Test series against West Indies, on Sunday, June 30.
England has selected a team of 14 players for two matches against West Indies and is giving a chance to play for the first time to Jamie Smith and Dillon Pennington. Smith, a 23-year-old who keeps the wickets, is expected to be England’s main wicketkeeper in these matches, instead of Bairstow and Foakes, who didn’t score many runs when they played against India earlier this year.
Regular players Jack Leach, Ollie Robinson, and Mark Wood didn’t make the team led by Ben Stokes. England will play two matches against the Caribbean team, starting on July 10 at Lord’s. Famous fast bowler James Anderson will stop playing after the Lord’s match and is likely to be replaced by newcomer Dillon Pennington for the second game at Trent Bridge starting on July 18.
“The first Test match of the summer is always a significant event, but this one will be particularly emotional since it’s James’s final Test before he retires,” said Rob Key, the managing director of England’s men’s cricket team. “He has dedicated himself fully to cricket since his first Test in 2003. We all want to send him our best wishes as he plays his last match for England at Lord’s.”
“”We are excited to start the season by playing against a tough West Indies team in a really good Test series.”
Jonny Bairstow and Mark Wood were part of England’s team for the T20 World Cup 2024 held in the USA and West Indies. Jos Buttler’s team lost badly to India in the second semi-final, who went on to win the championship.
England’s Test team includes: Ben Stokes (captain), Joe Root, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Dillon Pennington, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes.
