The England cricket team have made several changes to their Test squad for the upcoming series against West Indies, which will start on July 9. The players left out of the team include wicketkeepers Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes and spinner Jack Leach.
They had announced the squad for the first two Test matches against West Indies. The series will also see the retirement of veteran fast bowler, James Anderson, who will transition from a player to a mentor after the first Test match at Lord's.
Out of the three players left out of the squad, the exclusion of Bairstow was a point of discussion among the fans and pundits. England's managing director, Rob Key, opened up about the major decision to call up Jamie Smith as the wicketkeeper for the series, in place of the experienced Bairstow.
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Jonny Bairstow dropped from the England Test team - is it justified?
England dropped two of their wicketkeepers, Ben Foakes and Jonny Bairstow from Test team. Bairstow in particular, was an integral part of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum's "Bazball" team that intended to revolutionize the way Test cricket was played.
Surrey's Jamie Smith received a maiden call up and is likely to make his debut as well as take over the wicketkeeping duties for the national team.
However, this selection has come under scrutiny as he was even picked ahead of two experienced players including his county teammate, Ben Foakes, who is currently the first-choice keeper at Surrey.
The managing director of England's cricket team, Rob Key justified his selection saying:
"We’ve been watching Jamie Smith for quite some time. You just see players who are rare talents, and he looks like that. There’s a lot made of us just wanting someone who can go out there and play shots and not the case. We want someone who can not only up ante when they’re batting with the tail but soak up pressure when they need to as well and we feel Jamie Smith can do that."
He was asked about the exclusion of Jonny Bairstow, to which he said that the batter's concerning form was the major reason for him being dropped from the team.
"Jonny needs to get back to what he was a couple of years ago. Generally, his form in all formats has been going in slightly the wrong direction. You want him to get back to what he was when Brendon and Ben started out, " Key said.
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"It’s an arduous task, being a keeper as well, so you want someone who can back up series after series and we weren’t convinced Jonny would be able to do that, especially at the stage of career he’s at," he added.
What is Jamie Smith's record in the County Championship 2024 season for Surrey?
Jamie Smith is Surrey's leading run scorer in the ongoing County Championship season.
After his selection to the England Test team on Sunday, the 23-year old struck a century for his county team against Essex.
| Player | Innings | Runs | Average | 50s | 100s | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie Smith | 12 | 618 | 56.18 | 4 | 2 | 155 |
Apart from Jamie Smith, Durham’s Ollie Robinson was in great form during the County Championship this year too - averaging 78. Key explained the factors considered behind the selection of Smith over Robinson, stating that they made the best decision looking at the opponents.
"Often, you're not making judgements on what they've done. You're making judgements on what they're going to do. Who's going to be the best player to do it in the cauldron of Test cricket against some of the best bowlers in the world? You don't always see that. You don't see the [Pat] Cummins, [Mitchell] Starc, [Josh] Hazlewood, the [Jasprit] Bumrahs, the [Mohammed] Shamis, playing county cricket," he said
"Our call really is on who do we think is the best player to play against those sorts of bowlers, to go and play in spinning conditions in Pakistan We've seen a lot of Jamie Smith. We feel that he's got the game to be able to do that, " Key added, justifying his selection of Smith to the national setup.
Key also said that the management is clearly looking towards the future as well, with selections of fast bowlers, Dillon Pennington and Gus Atkinson to the team in a Test series that will see James Anderson bidding farewell to the national team.
"These are the people we think can take us forward, these are the people we think are going to play 50-plus Test matches. Now they might not, but at this point in time, these are the people we think are going to take English cricket forward in Test cricket."