LONDON: 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.