West Indies announce playing XI for first England Test; Jason Holder and Jayden Seales return
West Indies announced their playing XI for the first Test against England at Lord's, starting on July 10. Kraigg Brathwaite will lead the Caribbean side, who are coming off arguably their greatest Test win the last time they donned the whites.
West Indies ended a 27-year winless drought in a Test down under by pulling off a thrilling eight-run win in Brisbane earlier this year. They have retained most of the playing XI from that contest with the odd change.
Star all-rounder Jason Holder returned to the Test squad after opting out of the Australian tour and will take his rightful place in the playing XI. Exciting pacer Jayden Seales, who underwent surgery after injuring his knee in December 2022, returns to the Test playing XI after over a year.
West Indies will also reward 23-year-old Mikyle Louis with a Test cap for outstanding recent performances in the domestic circuit. Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Justin Greaves, Kevin Sinclair, and Kemar Roach will miss out on West Indies' playing XI from the last time they played a Test against Australia in January.
The two Josephs - Alzarri and Shamar will spearhead the pace attack featuring Seales and Holder as well. Gudakesh Motie, replacing Sinclair, will be the lone specialist spinner in the playing XI.
The two teams last met in the red-ball format in the West Indies in 2022 with the hosts coming out on top by a 1 -0 margin. However, when the sides met in England in 2020, Ben Stokes' men eked out a 2-1 series win.
As for England, the Lord's Test will be ace pacer James Anderson's international swansong. Following the Lord's encounter, the teams will face each other at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston in the final two Tests.
England and West Indies are coming off disappointing runs at the 2024 T20 World Cup. While defending champions England were ousted by eventual winners India in the semi-final, the West Indies missed out on final four qualification with a defeat to South Africa in their final Super Eight game.
In the latest 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) table, England are sitting at the bottom with three wins in ten outings. West Indies are in sixth place with a win in four outings.
West Indies playing XI for 1st Test vs England
Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Mikyle Louis, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Jason Holder, Joshua da Silva (wk), Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, and Jayden Seales.