Windies name four quicks plus spinner Permaul as Mayers, Phillip miss out

Toss England chose to bat first vs West Indies

England have won the toss and opted to bat first against West Indies in the first match of their three-Test series in Antigua.

In the first true test of their red-ball reset plans, an England side already without controversially omitted duo James Anderson and Stuart Broad and the injured Ollie Robinson, left Saqib Mahmood out of their attack, plumping for spinner Jack Leach. Mark Wood, who has recovered sufficiently from the illness he suffered in the lead-up to the match, will play alongside fellow seamers Chris Woakes and Craig Overton.

Joe Root, their captain who has been elevated to No. 3, told the host broadcaster: “The pitch looks very dry, cracking quite early with this wind and sun. It’s going to be a challenging first session but can we see it deteriorating through the game.”

Play was set to begin in fine, breezy conditions amid heavy sadness as the cricket world mourns the loss of Australia greats Shane Warne and Rod Marsh, who both died last week. Both sides were wearing black armbands.

England: 1 Alex Lees, 2 Zak Crawley, 3 Joe Root (capt), 4 Dan Lawrence, 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Craig Overton, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Jack Leach

West Indies: 1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), 2 John Campbell, 3 Shamarh Brooks, 4 Nkrumah Bonner, 5 Jermaine Blackwood, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Joshua da Silva (wk), 8 Alzarri Joseph, 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Veerasammy Permaul, 11 Jayden Seales