England have named three uncapped players in their Test squad to face the West Indies in July, signalling the start of a new era for the team.
Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at the newcomers.
Jamie Smith
The Surrey wicketkeeper-batter is the most striking pick, getting the nod ahead of the experienced Jonny Bairstow, county colleague Ben Foakes and Durham’s Ollie Robinson. At 23, he is still a developing talent but he has long been earmarked for the very top and made his ODI debut against Ireland last year. He boasts nine first-class hundreds and an average just above 40, but really pushed himself into the frame with a 71-ball century for England Lions against Sri Lanka last February – the fastest ever for the development side. It would be too much to expect his glovework to match up to Foakes, who remains the gold standard, and it is a significant ask for him to go from county understudy to Test keeper.
Gus Atkinson
Another recruit from the Surrey ranks, the 6ft 2in pace bowler has been around the set-up for the past year. He played three times at the 50-over World Cup in India last year and claimed four for 20 on T20 debut against New Zealand. The 26-year-old was impressive in The Hundred, where his ability to clear 90mph first reached a wider audience, but his natural pace in red-ball cricket is a little lower than that. Has a solid return of 59 wickets from his 19 first-class appearances but does not take the new ball for the Brown Caps and takes only one career five-for into the Test ranks.
Dillon Pennington
Pennington is the least well known of the new arrivals but his name had been thrown into the mix by director of cricket Rob Key earlier this year, suggesting the selectors were interested. Starting out at Worcestershire, he drew glowing references from the likes of South Africa’s Morne Morkel and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, but swapped New Road for Nottinghamshire this year in a bid to take his game up a notch. He has since worked with bowling coach Kevin Shine – formerly the ECB pace development lead – on tweaking his action and has collected 23 wickets at 23.13 in the top flight this season. While he is not the finished article, his height and attacking style make him a project England are willing to invest in.
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