England vs West Indies: England announce 13-man squad for the first Test, big names miss out

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have announced the 13-man squad for the first Test match of the series against West Indies. The first Test match between England vs West Indies of the #raisethebat series will be played at the Ageas Bowl, starting from July 8 next week. 

While several new players have been added in the 13-man squad selected for the first Test, a lot of big names have been missed out.   

Regular skipper, Joe Root has not been included in the first Test as he is awaiting the birth of his second child. In his absence, Ben Stokes would be leading the side. Moeen Ali’s name has been missing from the squad as he has taken a break from Test cricket. He played his last test match in August last year. 

Pace-duo Stuart Broad and James Anderson have been included in the squad along with the Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer. A total of five seamers have been selected in the squad along with one regular off-spinner Dom Bess. 

Jos Butler remains the wicket-keeper of the side, while the batting department would be managed by Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley, Joe Denly and Ben Stokes. Senior batsman, Jonny Bairstow has not been included in the first Test.  

Sam Curran has been included as a reserve after his report of Coronavirus came negative. Jack Leach has also been included as an off-spin reserve. 

England squad: Ben Stokes (C), James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Dominic Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler (WK), Zak Crawley, Joe Denly, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

Reserves: James Bracey, Sam Curran, Ben Foakes (wk), Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Ollie Robinson, Olly Stone.