Yorkshire's Jonny Bairstow has received his maiden call-up to the England Test squad for Thursday's series opener against West Indies.
Yorkshireman rewarded for fine form so far this season
Yorkshire's Jonny Bairstow has received his maiden call-up to the England Test squad for Thursday's series opener against West Indies.
The 22-year-old Yorkshireman was named in an England Test squad for the first time on Sunday morning as the ECB announced a 13-man party for the game at Lord's, which also includes Graham Onions.
Bairstow can expect to bat at number six if selected and that would appear highly likely in the absence of Ravi Bopara, who suffered a thigh injury two days ago which appears to have ruled him out of contention.
Alongside Onions, there are also places for Steve Finn and Tim Bresnan as England seek to cover all bases in a pace attack set to be led by James Anderson and a fit-again Stuart Broad.
Bairstow, who has played in six one-day internationals and six Twenty20s for England, is the only player among the 13 yet to be capped at Test level.
Since making a sparkling debut in an ODI against India in Cardiff last September, he has also continued to impress in the longer format this year with two centuries already in Division Two of the LV= County Championship.
If selected on Thursday, Bairstow will emulate his late father as an England Test player - David Bairstow played four Tests for his country between 1979 and 1981.
Impressive performances
"Jonny Bairstow has put in a number of impressive performances both for England Lions and Yorkshire and has been working hard on the England Performance Programme over the last couple of years," stated national selector Geoff Miller.
"He is an exciting young player, who now has an opportunity to experience the Test environment."
Miller also went on to explain the presence of five seamers in the 13, as England seek to consolidate their number one Test status in three matches against the Windies.
"We have selected a very strong 13-man squad which allows us to consider a number of options before making a decision about Thursday's side," he continued.
"We have included five seam bowlers who have all demonstrated that they are capable of winning Test matches for England."
He acknowledged England's awkward winter, against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates and then away to Sri Lanka, after reaching the top of the International Cricket Council rankings last summer.
Miller said: "This is an important period for us following a challenging winter where we learnt some valuable lessons, and we are preparing for a highly competitive series against a West Indies side full of quality players."
England squad: AJ Strauss (captain), JM Anderson, JM Bairstow, IR Bell, TT Bresnan, SCJ Broad, AN Cook, ST Finn, G Onions, KP Pietersen, MJ Prior, GP Swann, IJL Trott.
