England has 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 has 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.
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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 Test caps. Smith has seen off Bairstow and Foakes to claim the wicketkeeper spot.
Jonny Bairstow has been axed from England’s Test squad. Getty
It’s an interesting move from England considering Smith is the second choice wicketkeeper to Foakes at county level with Surrey. Bairstow’s dropping comes after he had a top score of 38 from his last 10 innings in the red-ball format.
It comes after England were defeated 4-1 by India earlier this year.
Leach and Bairstow have been important cogs in coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes’ reign over the England squad, however it appears the two are ready to move in a different direction.
After the India series, McCullum admitted England need to “refine” their approach as he ultimately prepares for an Ashes tour of Australia in 2025.
England Test 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