LONDON: England left out Jonny Bairstow from their squad announced Sunday for the first two Tests of next month´s three-match series against the West Indies, with wicketkeeping duties set to be taken over by the uncapped Jamie Smith. There was no place in the squad either for Ben Foakes, the first-choice wicketkeeper in a Surrey team where the 23-year-old Smith is often deployed as a specialist batsman.
Smith was one of three uncapped players included in a 14-man squad, with promising seamers Gus Atkinson and Dillon Pennington included as England look to rebuild ahead of the 2025/26 Ashes series in Australia. But Jack Leach was omitted, with Somerset team-mate Shoaib Bashir the lone specialist spinner in the squad.
Bairstow won his 100th cap in England´s previous Test, against India in Dharamsala, but a top score of 38 in 10 innings leaves him battling to salvage his career in the five-day game. Since spending nearly a year out of the game following a horrifying leg break in a freak accident on a golf course, Bairstow has struggled to regain top form.
Foakes was widely praised for his work in the field as England´s wicketkeeper during their 4-1 series loss in India, but he averages under 30 with the bat in Tests. Smith, who featured twice in last year´s one-day international series against Ireland, appears more in tune with the aggressive ´Bazball´ approach England have adopted under coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.
He averages 50 in the County Championship this season for title-holders Surrey and made a stunning 155 in 179 balls against Warwickshire earlier in the campaign.
The first Test at Lord´s starts on July 10, with the match set to be England great James Anderson´s last before the 41-year-old paceman retires from the format. With fellow new-ball bowler Stuart Broad having already retired after last year´s drawn home Ashes series, England must now decide how to replace two bowlers who have taken a monumental 1,304 Test wickets between them.