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England call up Bairstow for first Windies Test

May 13, 2012 16:59 IST

England have named uncapped wicket-keeper batsman Jonny Bairstow in the 13-man squad to face West Indies in the first match of the three-Test series starting at Lord's on Thursday.

Bairstow, 22, has played six One-day Internationals and an identical number of Twenty20 matches and replaces all-rounder Samit Patel from the squad that drew the away Test series against Sri Lanka 1-1 in April.

"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," national selector Geoff Miller said.

"He is an exciting young player who now has an opportunity to experience the Test environment."

Graham Onions was picked as the fifth paceman in the squad, alongside James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn, with Graeme Swann as the lone spinner.

The World No. 1 ranked Test side had a forgettable winter, when they were blanked 3-0 by Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates and split a two-match series in Sri Lanka.

Squad: Andrew Strauss (captain), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Jonny Bairstow, Matt Prior, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Graham Onions.

Source: REUTERS
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