Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bat first against the West Indies in the opening Test of the English summer at Lord’s, meaning James Anderson will deliver the opening ball in his final international match. The crowd on Wednesday morning, who will witness Anderson bowl in his 188th and final Test match, cheered Stokes’ choice.
Anderson will conclude his England career at Lord’s, where he made his Test debut in May 2003, in July 2024. In his final outing, he needs eight wickets to tie the late Shane Warne in second place, making him the third-highest Test wicket-taker in the history of the competition.
“What we can expect from Jimmy is complete heart, desire and passion to go out there and win games for England,” Stokes stated. “This week, he just wants to go out there and play like the artist he has been for so long. Jimmy is such a professional that we haven’t really talked about this week or how things stand in the dressing room. The fans will undoubtedly be excited for the first ball to be bowled today.”
West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite said he would have bowled first too, but he urged his young batsmen to set lofty goals for themselves. “It’s important to get in – it’s obviously the most difficult time when you first start – but just trust your eyes, trust your technique and think big,” he stated. “Think big, batsmen today: you’re playing at Lord’s.”
Both teams chose to announce their XIs ahead of schedule: England on Monday afternoon and the West Indies on Tuesday lunchtime. As a result, there were no last-minute additions or shocks in the lineup.
Offspinner Shoaib Bashir played his first-ever home game, while Surrey keeper-batter Jamie Smith and fast bowler Gus Atkinson made their debuts for England. Ollie Robinson, Jonny Bairstow, and Ben Foakes have been benched, and Mark Wood has taken a break following the T20 World Cup.
Mikyle Louis, a rookie for the West Indies, will bat first with Brathwaite and make history as the first person from St. Kitts to play in a Test match. He has only played eight first-class games. At the age of 23, he was called up for his first international team after putting up strong results for the Leeward Islands.
Since their historic victory over Australia at the Gabba in January, the West Indies have not played a Test match; nine of its players will be playing in their maiden Test at Lord’s. The only two who aren’t playing are Brathwaite and the returning Jason Holder, who was part of a nine-wicket loss there in 2017.
Only three players will participate in both matches for these teams: Harry Brook for England, Alzarri Joseph and Gudakesh Motie for the West Indies, and St. Lucia where they met three weeks ago during the T20 World Cup. Both Chris Woakes and Brook, who missed their teams’ 4-1 loss to India at the beginning of 2024, are playing in their first Test match in nearly a year.
Early in 2022, during Joe Root’s last visit as captain of England, the West Indies defeated the opposition 1-0 in the most recent Test series between the two teams. When the two teams last faced off in the UK, England overcame a 2-1 deficit in the first Test series after the worldwide athletic blackout caused by Covid.
Also Read: In preparation for the last Test, James Anderson selects the best batter he has faced.
England: 1 Joe Root, 2 Harry Brook, 3 Ollie Pope, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Zak Crawley, 4 Joe Root, 5 6 Jamie Smith (wk), 7 Ben Stokes (capt), 8 Chris Woakes James Anderson, 10, Shoaib Bashir, and 9 Gus Atkinson
West Indies: 1 Alick Athanaze, 2 Mikyle Louis, 3 Kirk McKenzie, 4 Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), 5 Hodge Kavem, 6 Jason Holder 7 Jayden Seales, 8 Alzarri Joseph, 9 Gudakesh Motie, 10 Shamar Joseph, and 11 Joshua Da Silva (wk).
India
