England’s first Test against the West Indies next month gets underway on March 8 at North Sound – here’s a look at what their first-choice XI could well look like.

Alex Lees

One of the notable aspects of England’s squad for the series is a dearth of genuine top-order options – earlier this month Andrew Strauss mentioned Dan Lawrence as an option as reserve opener. The scene is therefore set for Durham’s Alex Lees to make his Test debut and be given a run for the whole series.

Zak Crawley

The Kent right-hander began the Ashes on the bench but was called upon after Rory Burns struggled, and he showed glimpses of his ability at the back-end of the series, most memorably with a 100-ball 77 at the SCG.

Joe Root

In order to address his side’s top-order struggles, the England captain is set to move up from No.4 to No.3 for the West Indies Tests. While his Test-best of 254 was delivered at three, his record at one-down is less impressive – he averages 38.66 there and more than 50 at four.

Ben Stokes

It is still unclear whether Stokes will have a key role to play with the ball against the West Indies following the side strain he suffered during the Ashes, with the injury limiting him to the role of specialist batter for the fifth Test. With Root moving up the order, there is a vacancy at No.4 that could be filled by the vice-captain.

Jonny Bairstow

The only England player to make a century in the Ashes, Bairstow is set to play a role in the middle order – the gloves, however, look to be going elsewhere.

Ollie Pope/Dan Lawrence

The last spot in the middle order looks set to be a shootout between Pope and Lawrence. While the former endured a nightmarish Ashes series, averaging 11.16 from three Tests, the latter failed to make a single appearance in the series despite his side’s continuing struggles with the bat. While Stokes and Bairstow are both certainties to play, and Foakes is likely to take the gloves, the order of England’s Nos.4-6 is still up in the air, and could conceivably take the form of any of the possible combinations.

Ben Foakes (wk)

Strauss gave Foakes a ringing endorsement earlier this month: “We’ve got a keeper-batter waiting in the wings who I think is widely acknowledged as the or one of the best keepers in the world, and a very, very good batsman in his own right,” said the interim managing director of England men’s cricket. With Jos Buttler out of the picture, Foakes has the opportunity to establish himself as his England’s first-choice gloveman.

Chris Woakes

The Ashes saw Woakes continue to struggle with the ball away from home – he averages 22.63 with the ball in Tests at home compared to 52.38 abroad. Nonetheless, the absence of Stuart Broad and James Anderson opens up a possible role with the new ball. What also works greatly in Woakes’ favour is his batting – among England’s bowling options he is, by a distance, their most well-qualified man at No.8. Craig Overton could also be a strong challenger for this spot.

Mark Wood

Wood enhanced his reputation during the Ashes, taking 17 wickets at 26.64 to finish as his side’s leading wicket-taker. England’s last tour of the Caribbean in 2019 was a turning point in Wood’s Test career – he collected his maiden five-for at St Lucia – and he will return as a key figure in the bowling attack.

Ollie Robinson

While his fitness levels have come under question, England have placed a great deal of faith in Robinson by omitting Broad and Anderson. He looks set to take the new ball and build on a promising start to his international career.

Jack Leach/Matt Parkinson

This seems to be the most uncertain spot in the England side. Despite being handed an England central contract last year, left-arm spinner Leach has been in and out of the XI over the last 12 months and was another player to endure a difficult Ashes series. Matt Parkinson could therefore challenge for a Test debut. If England go with an all-pace attack, as they have been willing to do both home and away over the past two years, then one of the two uncapped quicks in the squad, Saqib Mahmood and Matt Fisher, could come into the frame, with Mahmood the more likely to round out the line-up.

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