Surrey pair Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith will make their debuts in James Anderson’s farewell Test at Lord’s as England have named their team to face West Indies in the first contest of a three-match series.
From the 14-player squad selected for the first Test, Dan Lawrence, Dillon Pennington and Matthew Potts are the players to miss out, with Atkinson, Chris Woakes and Anderson, in his final Test, preferred to the latter two for the seamer spots.
It’s Woakes’ first Test back for his country since being named Player of the Series in the drawn Ashes last summer. The all-rounder took a break from cricket earlier this year after his father passed away.
Somerset off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, who has been on loan with Worcestershire, will play his first Test match in England after taking 17 wickets in three matches during an impressive debut tour of India earlier this year.
The 20-year-old was born four months after Anderson made his Test debut in 2003.
Ian Ward felt England’s Shoaib Bashir showed great character in adapting to conditions on his debut Test tour of India
Smith, as expected, will make his Test debut as wicketkeeper, having replaced alternative options Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes in the squad.
The 23-year-old, who celebrated his maiden call up with the second of his two centuries for Surrey this summer against Essex last week, is leading the team’s batting averages with his 56.41 mark.
Atkinson, who also makes his Test bow, has played nine one-day internationals for England, taking 11 wickets at an average of 35.27, while the 26-year-old also has six wickets from three T20I caps.
In five County Championship appearances this summer, the Surrey fast bowler has taken 14 wickets at 29.78 a pop.
Anderson says he has “made peace” with his England retirement despite feeling he is “bowling as well as he ever has” ahead of his final Test at Lord’s.
James Anderson says he has ‘made peace’ with his England retirement as he discusses whether he could have made the next Ashes tour in 2025-26
England have opted to move on from the 41-year-old – the leading wicket-taker among fast bowlers in Test history with 700 strikes in 187 games – as they prepare for the next Ashes tour to Australia in 2025-26.
Anderson’s international career will end against West Indies at Lord’s from Wednesday, the same venue where he made his Test debut against Zimbabwe in May 2003.
He warmed up for his swansong with a seven-wicket haul for Lancashire against Nottinghamshire in the County Championship and asked whether he was bowing out from England duty too soon, Anderson replied: “It’s difficult to say, I haven’t really got a choice!
“It’s been a pretty strange couple of months but I feel pretty happy with where things are. I can completely understand the way the management and the team want to go.
“I have made peace with that and we will see what the future holds.”
England’s all-time leading wicket-taker James Anderson says his preparations remain the same ahead of what will be his final Test match
The 41-year-old added: “Coming off a seven-for last week I still feel I am bowling as well as I ever have but I knew it had to end at some point.
“Whether it’s now, a year or two years… the fact that it is now is just something I have to deal with and accept.
Sky Sports News’ James Cole reports on how James Anderson is preparing to make his bow from Test cricket
“I don’t have any regrets. I have played hundreds of games for England, in both white ball and red ball. I have played longer than a lot of people get the opportunity to do.”
Watch the first Test between England and West Indies live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Wednesday (11am first ball).
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