Bairstow left out of England's 13-man squad for first Test
England have named their 13-man squad for the upcoming series opener against West Indies, starting July 8 at the Ageas Bowl. As expected, Ben Stokes is set to lead the side in the absence of Joe Root and will become England's 81st Test captain. A total number of nine players will remain as Test reserves throughout the match at the venue. Here is more.
Full squad: Ben Stokes (C), James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Dominic Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Joe Denly, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood. Reserves: James Bracey, Sam Curran, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Ollie Robinson, Olly Stone.
The likes of Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, Joe Denly and Dom Sibley will fill England's top order in Joe Root's absence. Ollie Pope, who impressed with an unbeaten 55 in the intra-squad warm-up game, also earned a place in the squad. In the bowling segment, Chris Woakes could compliment Jofra Archer, James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
It is rather clear that vice-captain Jos Buttler will don the wicket-keeping gloves as Jonny Bairstow found no spot in the 13-man squad. The latter has struggled with consistency since the 2019 Ashes. Meanwhile, both Mooen Ali and Jack Leach could not break into the team. The duo went wicketless in the first innings of intra-squad practice game, playing for Team Stokes.
Dom Bess remains the head of spin department with both Jack Leach and Moeen Ali missing out. The right-arm spinner was among wickets in the warm-up fixture, having snapped up three wickets for 72 runs.
The reserves include two uncapped pacers, Saqib Mahmood and Ollie Robinson, alongside Craig Overton and Olly Stone. Notably, Stone did not bowl in the warm-up game, owing to hamstring injury. All-rounder Sam Curran, who complained of sickness and diarrhoea on Day 1 of the warm-up game has also been kept in the reserves. Besides, James Bracey and Ben Foakes will be backup wicket-keepers.
