England's Test captain Ben Stokes will lead his side to India as they look to claim victory in the subcontinent for the first time in 12 years.
England's "interesting" Test squad selection is further proof that captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum will continue to "take risks" which align with their Baseball philosophy, says Sky Sports Cricket's Michael Atherton.
Surrey wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith and Nottinghamshire seamer Dillon Pennington earned their maiden Test call-ups for the upcoming Test series against West Indies, which starts on Wednesday, July 10, live on Sky Sports.
Smith looks set to keep wicket for England with Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes not included in the squad, while Warwickshire seamer Chris Woakes is back in the fold for the first time since last July.
"It's a very interesting selection for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes when Test squads get announced you think there's not much to talk about, but this one felt quite a significant squad to me," said Atherton, speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket podcast.
"Their punt for Jamie Smith as wicketkeeper-batter is interesting. He's 23 years old and an incredibly promising young batte,r but not the first choice for his county Surrey in first-class cricket. Кавычки
"Pennington caught my eye back in March, right at the start of the season, when I watched him on a livestream and remember thinking, he's looking good. кавычки
"He caught people's eye about five or six years ago when he was an England Under-19s player at Worcester. He had a good season and people were saying he looks like a highly promising young fast bowler, but like many young players, he stagnated a bit.
"He's moved to Nottinghamshire for a chance to work with Peter Moores and Kevin Shine at a bigger club and from what I've seen this year, he's back on the up. кавычки
"So that's an interesting selection, and he's a beneficiary of Josh Tongue who's injured and Ollie Robinson, who had a poor winter, really played at one Test match in Ranchi but with a poor performance so he's been nudged aside as well."
When England announced they would pick then debutants Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir to tour India in the winter, people were also shocked. During that tour, right-arm off-spinner Bashir claimed a maiden five-wicket haul while left-armer Hartley took 20 scalps, making him the series' leading wicket-taker. Hartley also finished the Test in Hyderabad with a match-winning 7-62, the best by an England spinner on debut since 1933.
"You do feel this selection panel has an interesting relationship with county cricket," added Atherton. "Earlier this year, Rob Key said whoever they pick won't necessarily be on county championship form. кавычки
"They're not afraid of taking risks. I haven't seen Jamie Smith keep wickets because he hasn't done it that much in first-class cricket. But he's a very, very promising batter, very talented and fits in perfectly to the Bazball mould which of course Foakes doesn't."
Bashir Set for Bright England Future
Last week, Bashir conceded the joint-most expensive over in County Championship history with a 38-run eight-ball over for Worcestershire. Despite this, McCullum and Stokes have continued to back him.
When the tour of India concluded in January 2024, McCullum called on counties to give their young spinners a chance following the impact they had.
"Thinking about Bashir and the Ashes, England are going to be playing one spinner unless they go to the subcontinent where they might play two or three," added Atherton. "I think they see in Bashir, with his accuracy, high bounce, and drop, that he can do a job, as that one spinner both holding and attacking, in the same way that Nathan Lyon does for Australia."
England Men's Test Squad for First Two Matches vs West Indies
- Ben Stokes (Durham) (Captain)
- James Anderson (Lancashire) (First Test only)
- Gus Atkinson (Surrey)
- Shoaib Bashir (Somerset)
- Harry Brook (Yorkshire)
- Zak Crawley (Kent)
- Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)
- Dan Lawrence (Surrey)
- Dillon Pennington (Nottinghamshire)
- Ollie Pope (Surrey)
- Matthew Potts (Durham)
- Joe Root (Yorkshire)
- Jamie Smith (Surrey)
- Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
Sky Sports' Nasser Hussain added: "Graeme Swann did it for England for a number of years. Bashir is no Swann yet, but they see that drop and that bounce. England fancied him before, and that was out of the blue. We were driving to Isleworth when the announcement was made and I had to watch footage of him because I'd never seen him bowl.
"They backed him and one thing with this selection panel, if they believe in you and they back you, they will give you a long time and I quite admire that. Now, Bashir has just got to go and do it against the West Indies."
Watch the first Test between England and West Indies, at Lord's, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10 am on Wednesday, July 10 (11 am first ball). The series then continues at Trent Bridge (July 18-22) before the final game at Edgbaston (July 26-30).