England name squad for first two Tests vs West Indies, uncapped Dillon Pennington, Jamie Smith receive call-ups

England Cricket team. (Photo Source: BCCI)

England announced a 14-member squad for the first two Tests of the three-match series against the West Indies, starting on Wednesday, July 10, at the Lord’s in London. Uncapped Dillon Pennington and Jamie Smith have found places in the squad.

Pennington, who is a promising right-arm pacer, has picked up 29 wickets for Nottinghamshire, averaging 23.03 in the ongoing County Championship, Division I. He has taken 169 wickets in 52 First-Class matches at an average of 27.26.

Meanwhile, Jamie Smith, who is a naturally aggressive wicketkeeper-batter, has scored 507 runs in the Championship at an average of 50.70. Unlike Pennington, Smith has prior experience playing for the Three Lions, albeit in a different format. The 23-year-old played two ODIs against Ireland last year in November. With Ben Foakes and Jonny Bairstow not picked in the squad, Smith is set to make his debut at Lord’s in the first Test.

Tom Hartley, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach and Mark Wood are some notable faces missing from the pack. All four of them had embarked on a trip to India to play a five-match Test series earlier this year. Meanwhile, off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, who made his debut on the India tour, has retained his place in the side.

Uncapped seamer Gus Atkinson, who was a part of the Three Lions’ setup on the India tour but didn’t make the XI in any of the five Tests, holds on to his place in a fairly new-look bowling attack that welcomes back Chris Woakes, who’ll play his first Test since last year’s Ashes.

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Legendary England fast bowler James Anderson has been picked for only for the first Test, where he will play in his 188th and final game for England. The farewell-bound cricketer has accounted for 700 wickets since making his Test debut in 2003. Anderson will look to end his international career on a high by tormenting the West Indies batters at the Mecca of Cricket.

England squad for first two Tests vs West Indies –

Ben Stokes (C), James Anderson (first Test only), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Joe Root, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Dillon Pennington, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Jamie Smith (WK), Chris Woakes