WI vs ENG 2022: England announce 12-man squad for 1st Test

England have announced a 12-man squad for their first Test against West Indies, which begins on Tuesday at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

This is the first such announcement since the team's calamitous Ashes 2021-22 campaign, which led to an overhaul in all departments. Veteran pacers James Anderson and Stuart Broad were not picked for this tour, and so were underperforming openers Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed. There were major changes in the support staff also.

Durham batter Alex Lees is all set to make his debut at the top of the order. A prolific run-scorer in domestic cricket, the 28-year-old scored 65 and 10 in the recent practice match against West Indies Cricket Board President's XI. Zak Crawley, who scored 62 and 34 in the match, will be the other opener.

Joe Root has held on to the captaincy despite the 0-4 drubbing in Australia and is now set to take the No. 3 spot in the batting order. Dan Lawrence has been picked ahead of Ollie Pope on the back of his impressive 83 and 48 in the practice game. He'll bat at No. 4, followed by Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, and Ben Foakes.

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The bowling department has received a blow with pacer Ollie Robinson being ruled out of the first Test. England Cricket Board (ECB) in their press release said that Robinson hasn't recovered from a back spasm he picked up in the practice match.

Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, and Craig Overton look certain to start. The final place in the team will be a toss-up between possible-debutant right-arm fast-bowler Saqib Mahmood and spinner Jack Leach, depending on pitch conditions.

England 12-man squad for 1st Test against West Indies

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Joe Root (c), Jonny Bairstow, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes (wk), Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood.