England pick three new faces for WI series

LONDON, England (CMC):

Selectors have named three uncapped players in a 14-man England squad to face West Indies in the first two Tests of the three-match series here next month.

Seamers Dillon Pennington and Gus Atkinson, along with wicketkeeper-batsman Jamie Smith, will join the more experienced likes of Joe Root, Chris Woakes and Zak Crawley, in a unit led by all-rounder Ben Stokes.

Veteran seamer Jimmy Anderson will play his farewell Test, signing off on a career that has yielded 700 wickets from 187 Tests.

"The first Test of the summer is always a special moment, but it will be extra poignant with it being Jimmy's last Test before he retires," said Rob Key, the England Cricket Board's managing director.

"He has given everything to the sport since his Test debut in 2003. We all would like to wish him well as he walks out at Lord's for the last time for England."

"We are looking forward to getting the season under way against a strong West Indies side in what will be an excellent Test series."

The 25-year-old Pennington forced his way into the squad by taking 29 County Championship wickets at an average of 23 for Nottinghamshire this season, while Atkinson retains his place after touring India with the squad earlier this year.

Smith, meanwhile, has plundered 507 runs for Surrey at an average of nearly 77.

Barbados-born speedster Jofra Archer, who took 10 wickets at 19 runs apiece in the just-concluded Twenty20 World Cup, has been overlooked.

The 29-year-old has not played the longest format in nearly three and a half years due to injury.

West Indies take on England at Lord's in the opening Test, starting on July 10, while the second Test starts eight days later at Trent Bridge.

SQUAD: Ben Stokes (captain), James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Dillon Pennington, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes