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The start of the men's Test summer between England and West Indies.
The match is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, July 10 with the first ball due to be bowled at 11 am.
International cricket returns to the Home of Cricket as the first Test will take place at Lord's.
James Anderson celebrates reaching 700 Test wickets in India (Getty Images)
Both teams start this series with just one win in their last five matches. However, West Indies' win was against Australia at the Gabba in their most recent Test match.
Shamar Joseph's 7 for 68 inspired the eight-run win over Australia and there is a lot of excitement about how Joseph will perform in English conditions.
After winning the first game of the series, England lost the next four games during their winter tour of India.
West Indies haven't won a Test series in England since they won 4-0 in 1988, four years after the famous 'blackwash.'
England's Bazball style will not dwell on their difficult trip to India and confidence in their style of play is unlikely to have been damaged.
James Anderson will play his 188th and final Test match for England at Lord's.
Elsewhere in the squad, Surrey's Jamie Smith will take the gloves after being preferred to Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes while Shoaib Bashir got the nod as the sole spinner over Jack Leach.
Dillon Pennington and Gus Atkinson are both uncapped in Tests and at least one will play in either of the first two test matches.
Harry Brook returns to the Test side after missing the India series due to personal reasons. Ben Stokes has made a successful return to bowling for Durham this season with 18 wickets in three matches.
West Indies suffered a major blow when Kemar Roach was ruled out of the series with an injury but the squad still boasts an exciting seam attack including Jason Holder, Shamar Jospeh, Jayden Seales, and Alzarri Joseph.
Kavem Hodge made 112 in the warm up game against the County Select XI last week while captain Kraigg Brathwaite will be a familiar figure for England fans.
England: Ben Stokes, James Anderson (first Test only), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Dillon Pennington, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes
West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain), Alick Athanaze, Joshua Da Silva, Jason Holder, Kavem Hodge, Tevin Imlach, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Mikyle Louis, Zachary McCaskie, Kirk McKenzie, Gudakesh Motie, Jeremiah Louis, Jayden Seales, Kevin Sinclair
Harry Brook returns to Test cricket after missing the India series due to personal reasons (Randy Brooks/Getty Images)
There is plenty of rain forecast in the build-up to the game but it is set to clear up over the five days with some light rain forecast for Day One. Anderson may relish the prospect of cloudy skies throughout the match.
England are 2/7 favourites to win the first Test. A draw between the sides is available at 13/2 while a West Indies win is at 9/1.
Joe Root is 13/5 to be England's highest run scorer in their first innings and Anderson is 9/4 to be the top wicket-taker for England.
Sky Sports Cricket is showing the entire England v West Indies Test series in the UK.
This means Sky Sports customers can also watch the series on the Sky Go app.
NOW is another option for streaming the match as you can watch matches without signing a contract.
BBC Test Match Special will provide ball-by-ball radio commentary for listeners in the UK.
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Posted by Elaine Spencer on 06/07/2024 at 15:23
Thank goodness no Bairstow but dropping Ben Foakes?? He has got to be the best keeper so why is he out of favour again?
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