LONDON, (Reuters) – Spinner Dom Bess was named in England’s 13-man squad for the first test against West Indies and there was no place for Moeen Ali among nine reserves, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said yesterday. All-rounder Ben Stokes will lead England in the match, which will begin at the Ageas Bowl Southampton on Wednesday in a bio-secure environment amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moeen announced in September he was taking a break from test cricket after losing out on a central contract for the longest format but he was included in a 30-man training group.
But the ECB opted to go with off-spinner Bess, who grabbed his first five-wicket test haul against South Africa in January.
Fellow spinner Jack Leach is among the reserves for the opening game of the three-match series. All-rounder Sam Curran, who was cleared to resume training after testing negative for COVID-19, was also placed on stand-by.
Regular skipper Joe Root will miss the first test to be at the birth of his second child.
The second and third tests will be played in Manchester.
England squad: Ben Stokes (captain), James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Dominic Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Joe Denly, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Reserves: James Bracey, Sam Curran, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Ollie Robinson, Olly Stone.