Eng call up Bairstow for first Windies test
England have named uncapped wicketkeeper batsman Jonny Bairstow in the 13-man squad to face West Indies in the first match of the three-test series starting at Lord's on Thursday.
Bairstow, 22, has played six one-day internationals and an identical number of Twenty20 matches and replaces allrounder Samit Patel from the squad that drew the away test series against Sri Lanka 1-1 in April.
"Jonny Bairstow has put in a number of impressive performances both for England Lions and Yorkshire and has been working hard on the England Performance Programme over the last couple of years," national selector Geoff Miller said in a statement on Sunday.
"He is an exciting young player who now has an opportunity to experience the test environment."
Graham Onions was picked as the fifth paceman in the squad, alongside James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn, with Graeme Swann as the lone spinner.
The world No 1 ranked test side had a forgettable winter, when they were blanked 3-0 by Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates and split a two-match series in Sri Lanka.
"This is an important period for us following a challenging winter where we learnt some valuable lessons and we are preparing for a highly competitive series against a West Indies side full of quality players," Miller added.
"We have selected a very strong 13-man squad which allows us to consider a number of options before making a decision about Thursday's side.
"We have included five seam bowlers who have all demonstrated that they are capable of winning test matches for England."
England squad: Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Jonny Bairstow, Matt Prior, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Graham Onions.
