England-West Indies series
England name squad for first two Tests against West Indies
|| ICC ||
England have named a strong 14-member squad for the first two Tests against West Indies at home, to be led by Ben Stokes.
The three-Test match series between England and West Indies is a part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25. Pacer James Anderson, who is to retire after the first game, will only feature in the first Test at Lord's.
Seamer Dillon Pennington and wicket-keeper batter Jamie Smith have earned maiden Test call-ups after impressive showing in the County Championship for Nottinghamshire and Surrey respectively.
Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes were notable absentees, with Smith the frontline wicket-keeping option in the squad. Pope, who last kept wickets for England in 2022, is another option. England have picked a number of seam bowlers for the home series, including Anderson, Pennington, Matthew Potts, Gus Atkinson and the returning Chris Woakes.
Woakes makes a comeback after more than a year, having last played a Test match in July 2023, when he won the Player of the Series during the Ashes against Australia.
Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir will be the lead spinner for England with Jack Leach missing out.
The series will be the second edition of the Richards-Botham Trophy, with West Indies winning the inaugural edition in 2022.
The series will also carry crucial World Test Championship points. England are presently at the bottom of the table with 17.5 percentage points, while West Indies are at the sixth spot with 33.33%.
Squad:
Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Dillon Pennington, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes.