England vs West Indies, Lord's Test: Smith, Louis among debutants
The first Test between England and West Indies at the iconic Lord's is underway. England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and put the Caibbeans in to bat under overcast conditions. This marks the farewell Test for legend James Anderson, who made his debut at the same venue over two decades ago. Notably, the Test features three debutants to watch out for.
A look at Playing XIs
West Indies (Playing XI): Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Mikyle Louis, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Joshua Da Silva (wicket-keeper), Jason Holder, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, and Jayden Seales. England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicket-keeper), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, and James Anderson.
Jamie Smith dons gloves for England
England preferred uncapped wicket-keeper Jamie Smith over the experienced Jonny Bairstow or Ben Foakes for the West Indies Test series. The 23-year-old earned his maiden Test call-up after scoring his second First-Class century of the ongoing County season. He has slammed 677 runs at an incredible average of 56.41 for Surrey in 2024. Overall, Smith owns 3,434 runs in First-Class cricket.
Pacer Gus Atkinson begins his Test journey
Smith's Surrey team-mate Gus Atkinson is the other debutant in England's Playing XI at Lord's. The medium-pacer begins his Test journey after represting the Three Lions in nine ODIs and three T20Is. As of now, he has picked up 14 wickets at 29.78 for Surrey at the County Championship. Atkinson owns 59 wickets from 19 FC games at 27.38 so far.
Opener Mikyle Louis makes his debut for WI
On the other hand, WI have handed a maiden Test cap to opener Mikyle Louis. As per Cricbuzz, he has become the first player from St Kitts to represent the West Indies in Test cricket. He smashed 50 and 28 in West Indies' warm-up match against County XI ahead of the 1st Test. Louis has 682 runs from seven FC games at 48.71.
