England drop senior players for WI Test series: Details here
What's the story
Experienced campaigners Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Mark Wood, and Ollie Robinson found no spot in England's 14-man squad for the impending Test series against the West Indies at home. Meanwhile, Jamie Smith and Dillon Pennington have earned their maiden call-ups for the same. Notably, veteran pacer James Andeson will retire from international cricket after playing the series opener. Here are further details.
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England's full squad for the series
England's Test squad for WI series: Ben Stokes (captain), James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Dillon Pennington, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, and Chris Woakes.
Miss
Senior players and their replacements
Foakes, Bairstow, Leach, Wood, and Robinson have fallen out of favor from the selectors. Robinson, who was toured to take England's pace attack, has been dented with fitness issues. Moreover, a dip in form has also played a role. Besides, England have preferred young wicket-keeper Jamie Smith over Foakes, Bairstow, or Jos Buttler. Besides, Shoaib Bashir will lead the spin attack instead of Leach.
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Most expensive over in First-Class history
Earlier this month, Robinson, who had been a mainstay seamer in England's Test side, conceded 43 runs in an over in the English County Championship match against Leicestershire. Louis Kimber smashed Robinson for 2 sixes and 6 fours in that over.
Anderson
Anderson set to retire
In May this year, Anderson, one of the greatest pacers across formats, announced that he will call it quits after featuring in the first Test against the Windies. The 41-year-old is the world's only pacer with 700 wickets in Test cricket. Overall, he has the third-most wickets in the format, after Muthiah Muralidaran (800) and Shane Warne (708).
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ENG vs WI, Test series 2024: Full schedule
England and WI are set to lock horns in three Tests, starting July 10 at Lord's, the Home of Cricket. Trent Bridge (July 18-22) and Edgbaston (July 26-30) will host the second and third Tests, respectively.