The 13-man Test squad includes Archer and Wood, with nine players staying on in reserve
\nnews agency
\nlondon
\nEngland have opted for continuity ahead of the first Test against West Indies, with every member of their 13-man squad having featured on the tour of South Africa earlier this year.
\nThat means Joe Denly is set to retain his place in the batting line-up, while the main decisions will revolve around the make-up of the pace attack.
\nJofra Archer and Mark Wood, both of whom impressed during England\u2019s warm-up game this week, may be vying for one place, while Chris Woakes is the allrounder option in support of James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Sam Curran, who tested negative for Covid-19 after feeling unwell during the match, is among the nine reserves who will remain with the squad at the Ageas Bowl.
\nMost noteworthy among those missing out were Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali, senior members of England\u2019s white-ball squads but overlooked for the Tests. Bairstow had been a contender to come into the side in the absence of Joe Root, England\u2019s Test captain who is missing the game in order to attend the birth of his child, but only managed scores of 11 and 39 in the three-day warm-up; James Bracey and Dan Lawrence, who both caught the eye with half-centuries, have been retained as the back-up batsmen.
\nDom Bess remains at the head of the pack among England\u2019s spinners, keeping out Jack Leach, who is among the reserves, and Moeen. Bess claimed 3 for 72 in his outings for Team Buttler, while Leach and Moeen went wicketless for Team Stokes in the first innings and then conceded runs at six an over in the second.
\nWith Root having already left the camp, and Ben Stokes in line to become England\u2019s 81st Test captain, the selectors have stuck with familiar names for the first of three matches in three weeks against West Indies. Rory Burns returns, having suffered ankle-ligament damage while playing football in South Africa, and seems set to open alongside Dom Sibley, with Denly and Zak Crawley the options to cover for Root\u2019s absence at No. 4.
\nOllie Pope and Stokes will complete the batting line-up, while Jos Buttler retains the gloves, as head coach Chris Silverwood hinted during the week, with Ben Foakes retained as back-up keeper.
\nIn the fast-bowling department, England have Archer and Wood available to provide extra pace – but while there may be a temptation to deploy them together in Test cricket for the first time, Silverwood has previously hinted that they will likely be rotated in order to protect both from wear and tear.
\nArcher has only recently recovered from an elbow stress fracture, having missed three Tests in South Africa and been omitted from the touring party for Sri Lanka in March.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The 13-man Test squad includes Archer and Wood, with nine players staying on in reserve news agency london England have opted for continuity ahead of the first Test against West Indies, with every member of their 13-man squad having featured on the tour of South Africa earlier this year. That means Joe Denly is set […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":130267,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n