England set to hand Jamie Smith Test debut vs West Indies with squad set to be announced on Sunday
Watch England’s Test summer as it begins with a three-match series against the West Indies, live on Sky Sports; Jamie Smith to be handed debut in James Anderson’s farewell at Lord’s (July 10-14) followed by further matches at Trent Bridge (July 18-22) and Edgbaston (July 26-30)
England are set to hand a debut to Surrey’s Jamie Smith when the squad for the Test series against West Indies, live on Sky Sports, is announced on Sunday.
The 23-year-old wicketkeeper-batter has been drafted in by head coach Brendon McCullum, as England’s Test summer begins at Lord’s on July 10, live on Sky Sports Cricket.
Smith most recently struck an 86 with the bat for Surrey against Worcestershire last Sunday in the County Championship.
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Smith is reportedly expected to bat at No 7 and keep wicket for England.
He previously made his international white-ball debut against Ireland in 2023.
Anderson will call time on historic career
The first Test of the summer will be James Anderson’s last, with the bowler ending a historic Test career.
Anderson became the first seamer and just the third bowler in history to reach 700 Test wickets, after spinners Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, in his most recent outing against India in Dharamsala in March.
He made his international debut in December 2002 and his Test bow in May 2003, with his 187 Test appearances another England record and only beaten by Sachin Tendulkar’s 200 for India.
He played in 194 ODIs and 19 T20s before his international white-ball career ended in 2015 – the same year he overtook Sir Ian Botham’s 383 dismissals to become England’s record Test wicket-taker, then in 2018 overhauled Glenn McGrath’s total of 563 Test wickets to become the most prolific fast bowler of all time.
Anderson’s longevity saw him continue to regularly feature in England’s Test side, with the Lancashire seamer electing against joining long-time new-ball partner Stuart Broad in retiring at the end of last summer’s thrilling Ashes series.
He played in four of England’s five Tests in the 4-1 defeat in India earlier this year – the first series loss under McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, with Anderson only taking 15 wickets in his last eight Tests at an average of 50.8 over the past 12 months.
Anderson, who needs just nine more wickets to leap above Warne’s 708 dismissals and move up to second behind Muralitharan (800) on the all-time list, said after that series defeat to his Tailenders podcast he was “definitely in the best shape” and was hopeful of pushing to feature again this summer.
When are England in action this summer?
The Test summer begins with a three-match series against the West Indies, with Anderson’s farewell at Lord’s (July 10-14) followed by further matches at Trent Bridge (July 18-22) and Edgbaston (July 26-30).
Three more England Tests will then follow against Sri Lanka in August and September.
Watch every England match throughout this summer live on Sky Sports Cricket
