ESPNcricinfo– West Indies have won the toss and sent England in to bat in the second Test in Antigua.
Morning showers have cleared for the match to start on time on a green-looking pitch.
Joe Denly will make his debut, replacing opener Keaton Jennings, who was left out after a disappointing performance in the first Test, which the West Indies won by 381 runs. West Indies have named an unchanged team from the one which secured that victory.
England, meanwhile, have rung in the changes with Stuart Broad, who was controversially overlooked for the first Test, coming into the side. The tourists have opted to play just one spinner, retaining Moeen Ali from the first Test, while Adil Rashid was left out. Rashid will return home for the birth of his second child.
Denly’s inclusion caps a long path to Test honours for the 32-year-old. His call-up follows a Man-of-the-Match display of legspin in a one-off T20I in Sri Lanka before Christmas and some outstanding form batting in the middle order for Kent over the past two county seasons.
“It’s been a long time coming, there’s been some ups and downs along the way but I’m very excited and extremely proud,” Denly told Sky Sports. “There’s been moments of doubt, I suppose, along the way, but in the last couple of years I’ve been in a pretty good place.
“I’ve opened the batting a lot in my career, probably more so than not, and I’m really excited to go out there and take on the new ball. I’ve got a lot of experience to call on. Obviously out here it’s Test match cricket, so a big challenge, but one I’m sure I’m ready for.”
West Indies: 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 John Campbell, 3 Shai Hope, 4 Darren Bravo, 5 Roston Chase, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Shane Dowrich (wk), 8 Jason Holder (capt), 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Shannon Gabriel
England: 1 Rory Burns, 2 Joe Denly, 3 Jonny Bairstow, 4 Joe Root (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Ben Foakes (wk), 9 Sam Curran, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson
