England drops Bairstow, Foakes and Leach for West Indies test series in changing of the guard
England's Jonathan Bairstow bats during the men's T20 World Cup cricket match between England and the West Indies at Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
LONDON (AP) — England dropped Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes and Jack Leach from its test squad ahead of the series against the West Indies.
In the freshened-up 14-man squad for the first two tests, England called up three uncapped players: wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith and seamers Gus Atkinson and Dillon Pennington. Young spinner Shoaib Bashir has been preferred to Leach in what amounts to a changing of the guard.
James Anderson was selected but the 41-year-old seamer will only play the first test, at Lord's starting July 10, before retiring.
Bairstow is the most high-profile casualty, dropped on exactly 100 caps. Smith has seen off Bairstow and Foakes to claim the wicketkeeper spot.
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England squad: Ben Stokes (captain), James Anderson (first Test only), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Dillon Pennington, Ollie Pope, Matt Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes.
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The Associated Press