Sports Bulletin Report
LONDON:-England Men's selection panel, consisting of Sir Andrew Strauss (interim managing director of England Men's Cricket), interim head coach Paul Collingwood and head scout James Taylor, have named a 16-strong squad for the three-match Test tour of the Caribbean starting next month.
Surrey wicketkeeper Ben Foakes returns to the squad for the first time in under a year when he played the fourth Test in Ahmedabad last March against India.
Eight players – James Anderson, Dom Bess, Sam Billings, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Haseeb Hameed and Dawid Malan - who featured in the recent Ashes series, have missed out on selection.
Andrew Strauss said:
"With the start of a new cycle, it has allowed the selection panel to refresh the Test squad with a particular focus on competing away from home.
"We felt that it was time to draw a line after the Ashes defeat, look forward and give some impetus with an influx of new players.
"In respect of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, I want to emphasise this does not mean the end for them as England players. We feel that it is important to look at some exciting new bowling potential and give some added responsibility to other players who have featured previously. No one doubts the quality and experience that James and Stuart bring to the England set-up. It will be up to the new managing director and permanent head coach to decide on whether they will be involved this summer and beyond.
"This selection of this squad is the start of a process and a journey to get England Test cricket back to where it needs to be, and the hard work starts now."
The three-match Test series forms part of the ICC World Test Championship. Joe Root's team will be looking to climb the rankings after a disappointing start to the second edition of the Championship. At the end of the two-year cycle, the top two teams will compete in the ICC World Test Championship Final due to be staged in 2023.
Names of selected players:
Joe Root (Yorkshire) captain, Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Matthew Fisher (Yorkshire), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Alex Lees (Durham), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Craig Overton (Somerset), Matthew Parkinson (Lancashire), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).
Durham opener Alex Lees and Yorkshire seamer Matthew Fisher are called-up for the first time.
Schedule:
March 1-4 – Four-day warm-up match at Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua
March 8-12 – 1st Test, West Indies v England at Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua
March 16-20 – 2nd Test, West Indies v England at Kensington Oval, Barbados
March 24-28 – 3rd Test, West Indies v England at National Cricket Stadium, Grenada
