On July 10, England will play the West Indies in the opening Test at Lord’s. The Three Lions released their starting lineup ahead of time, with two players making their England Test debuts against the Caribbean team. In addition to Shoaib Bashir making his home debut following his appearance on England’s tour of India, Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson will also be making team debuts. Following the Ashes, Chris Woakes, the player of the series in the previous Ashes, has also returned to the starting lineup.
In reference to Atkinson, he has played in 12 white-ball cricket matches for England. During the five-match Test series, he travelled to India with England, but he was unable to make his debut since there was no extra pacer’s option on turning Indian tracks. Smith will wear the gloves for the squad in the next Test, but England has chosen to overlook Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes.
In relation to the numbers, Atkinson had a great summer, which led to his selection for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. The pacer, who was later benched for the T20 World Cup in 2024, can reach a typical top speed of 80 to 90 mph when he gets going. He has taken 14 wickets in the County Championship this season for Surrey at an average of 29.78.
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Jamie Smith follows up a fruitful county tenure.
Smith’s incredible results on the home circuit have made him a serious contender for the ECB. With 677 runs at an average of 56.41 and a strike rate of 76.67, he is the leading scorer for Surrey and was called up when he scored his second century in the first class. In two matches against Ireland, he has represented England in white-ball cricket. Harry Brook has secured the number five spot, thus he must contend with the number seven spot.
England Playing XI:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson
India
