England Left Out Wicket-Keeper Jonny Bairstow And All-Rounder Moeen Ali For The Opening Test Against The West Indies:

 

England left off wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow and all-rounder Moeen Ali for the opening test against the West Indies, starting on July 8 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. The first test will mark the return of international cricket for the first time since the sport, through formats, was halted by the coronavirus pandemic. England named a 13-man squad, as well as a nine-player backup squad.

Names Of The Players In The Squad: James Bracey, Sam Curran, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Ollie Robinson, Olly Stone.

Following a bad run of form in last year’s Ashes, Bairstow was dropped for England’s Test assignment in New Zealand with a view to focusing on his red-ball game. But he eventually missed the cut as Ben Foakes-who was named in the English squad as the second keeper of the abandoned tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year-was selected. The indication of this move was obvious when Foakes handed the gloves to Ben Stokes XI, which Jos Buttler XI took in a three-day intra-squad match. Bairstow ended the game with a score of 11 and 39.

Just a few months after announcing that he was ready to find his way back to the Test set-up, Moeen Ali found himself without a spot on the side that would take the West Indies in four days. Like Bairstow, Moeen also suffered indifference during last year’s Ashes and was dropped in just the second game after a poor opening result in the series in Edgbaston (3-172 and 0 and 4 scores). Moeen responded to the axing by deciding to take time away from the longest-running format and was not available for selection for the New Zealand, South Africa, and now-canceled series against Sri Lanka.

Although England will have its opening batsman Rory Burns back after not being part of the Sri Lanka Series team due to injury, the likes of Matthew Parkinson and Keaton Jennings have missed out. Sam Curran, who was part of the Sri Lanka Tests team, is now among the reserves as James Anderson and Mark Wood have returned.

As confirmed before, in the absence of Joe Root, Ben Stokes will lead England, who will be away to be with his wife for the birth of their second child. Seven days of self-isolation before joining the English squad for the second test in Manchester, starting on the 16th of July.