Jamie Smith starred on his Test debut as he struck a half-cenutry to help England edge closer to a resounding victory against the West Indies at Lord's. 

Smith scored 70 runs from 119 deliveries as England followed on from their opening day dominance, ending the day with a 171-run lead over their opponents. 

The debutant was one of five players to reach a half-century, with Joe Root (68) and Harry Brook (50) backing up the opening day totals scored by Zak Crawley (76) and Ollie Pope (57).

England led by 250 runs after being bowled out for 371 and continued their dominance with the ball in hand. 

Anderson opened England's attack and got the first wicket of the afternoon, bowling West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite before capturing Alick Athanaze late on for his 703rd international wicket.

Ben Stokes also took two wickets (2-25) which included Jason Holder off the final ball of the day to leave the West Indies 79-6 heading into tomorrow's action. 

Data Debrief: Stokes and Smith impress at Lord's

Stokes two wickets at Lord's saw him claim his 200th Test wicket. In doing so, he became just the 3rd player to score 6,000 runs and take 200+ wickets in men's test history, after Jacques Kallis & Sir Garry Sobers.

With the bat, Smith's score of 70 is the 5th best on Test debut for an England men's wicketkeeper. Only Matt Prior - 126* v West Indies (Lord's 2007), Ben Foakes - 107 v Sri Lanka (Galle 2018) Jack Russell - 94 v Sri Lanka (Lord's 1988) Jos Buttler - 85 v India (Southampton 2014) have scored more. 

And while doing the damage with the ball in hand, Anderson was kept quiet with the bat. It was the seventh time that he has batted in a test innings but not faced a delivery, the first time since 2019.

The West Indies are on the brink of a quick defeat at stumps on day two of the first of three Tests against England at Lord’s.

The tourists ended Thursday 79-6 off 34.5 overs, needing a further 171 runs to force England to bat again.

Similar to the first innings, the West Indian top order failed to impress as Kraigg Brathwaite (4), Kirk McKenzie (0), Mikyle Louis (14) and Kavem Hodge (4) all fell within the first 20 overs of the innings with the West Indies teetering at just 37.

Alick Athanaze was next to go after battling hard for 22 to leave the West Indies 55-5 in the 29^th over before Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva looked set to see out the English bowling for the rest of the day.

This proved not to be the case as Holder became Gus Atkinson’s ninth wicket of his magical debut in the day’s last over for 20 to leave the West Indies 79-6 off 34.5 overs at stumps.

Joshua Da Silva was 8* at the close of play.

James Anderson, Atkinson and skipper Ben Stokes have taken two wickets, each, so far.

Earlier, the hosts progressed to 371 all out off 90 overs after beginning day two 189-3.

Both overnight batsmen, Joe Root and Harry Brook, went on to bring up their fifties.

Root eventually fell for a 114-ball 68 including seven fours while Brook made an even 50 off 64 balls including five fours and a six.

The top scorer on the day, however, was debutant Jamie Smith who hit eight fours and two sixes on his way to a 119-ball 70.

On his return to the Test arena, Jayden Seales was the pick of the West Indian bowlers with 4-77 from 20 overs.

Gudakesh Motie and Jason Holder provided good support for Seales with 2-41 off 16 overs and 2-58 off 18 overs, respectively.

Full Scores:

West Indies 121 all out off 41.4 overs (Mikyle Louis 27, Gus Atkinson 7-45) & 79-6 off 34.5 overs (Alick Athanaze 22, James Anderson 2-11, Ben Stokes 2-25, Gus Atkinson 2-27)

England 371 all out off 90 overs (Zak Crawley 76, Jamie Smith 70, Joe Root 68, Ollie Pope 57, Harry Brook 50, Jayden Seales 4-77, Gudakesh Motie 2-41, Jason Holder 2-58)

West Indian opener Andre Fletcher hit a half century but it was not enough to prevent the Kandy Falcons from going down by eight wickets to the Galle Marvels in Lanka Premier League action at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Wednesday.

Fletcher hit a top score of 69 to help the Falcons produce 187-9 from their 20 overs after being put in to bat by the Marvels.

His knock lasted 43 balls and included six fours and four sixes. He got good support from opening partner Dinesh Chandimal who made 32 while Angelo Mathews and Ramesh Mendis chipped in with 29 and 28, respectively.

Prabath Jayasuriya took 3-30 from his four overs for Galle.

The Marvels then took 19.2 overs to reach 188-2 and secure a comfortable victory.

Alex Hales was the catalyst behind the successful chase with 86* off 55 balls including seven fours and four sixes while Bhanuka Rajapaksa finished 46* off 25 balls including five fours and a pair of sixes.

Captain and wicket-keeper Niroshan Dickwella also chipped in with 25.

Fletcher also took 1-11 from two overs with his part-time leg-spin.

The Marvels are now second in the points table after six games, level on eight points with leaders Jaffna Kings.

The Falcons have two wins from six games and sit last on the six-team table.

Full Scores:

Kandy Falcons 187-9 off 20 overs (Andre Fletcher 69, Dinesh Chandimal 32, Angelo Mathews 29, Ramesh Mendis 28, Prabath Jayasuriya 3-30, Dwayne Pretorius 2-37)

Galle Marvels 188-2 off 19.2 overs (Alex Hales 86*, Bhanuka Rajapaksa 46*, Niroshan Dickwella 25)

Sikandar Raza admitted "the wheels are coming off again" for Zimbabwe after India took the lead in their five-match T20I series.

After losing the first match, India are now 2-1 up in the series after three games having held out for a 23-run victory on Wednesday.

Shubman Gill settled straight back in after returning to the squad following their World Cup success, hitting 66 off 49 balls to set India on their way.

With Yashasvi Jaiswal (36) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (49) also finding their rhythm early on, India set an impressive target of 182-4.

Zimbabwe struggled in the field but also got off to a slow start with the bat until Dion Myers entered the fray, getting 65 not out to give the hosts some hope.

Washington Sundar's three wickets soon put a halt to their comeback as they fell short.

Raza was left to lament a frustrating game but was optimistic they could get back to their best.

"Think [the problem] is the fielding again," Raza said. "We are very proud of it, but the wheels are coming off again.

"We gave away 20 runs extra. We still have problems at the top [with the bat], but we are backing the boys. I know they are trying and once they do, we will come good again.

"It is time we players including me take the responsibility. I can accept some mistakes from the young side, but the seniors need to step up. But we need to back them.

"This is the best we have and this is the best that we can do. The game always rewards you, always does."

The fourth match will take place on Saturday, and a win for India would confirm their series win.

Data Debrief: India just too strong

Gll sped to his half-century in just 36 balls, earning his first 50 as India's T20I captain.

Despite their strong batting display, India were also the beneficiaries of 31 runs after Zimbabwe struggled to take their chances out on the field. The eventual win margin for India: 23. 

The chances of West Indies bettering England in their three-match Test series were always slim, and Wednesday’s opening day of the first encounter at Lord’s again justified why the host are overwhelmingly favoured.

No doubt the Caribbean side went into the contest confident that they can secure a Test series win in England for the first time since 1988, but their batting display was a far cry from a team hoping to achieve that feat.

They collapsed from 88-3 to 121 all out, as England’s attack, led by debutant Gus Atkinson, was quick, vicious and left West Indies in a tailspin with no response to the onslaught.

Debutant Mikyle Louis (27), Alick Athanaze (23), Kavem Hodge (24), Alzarri Joseph (17), and Gudakesh Motie, with an unbeaten 14, were the only scores in double figures. Atkinson bagged 7-45, the second best by an England bowler on Test debut behind Dominic Cork.

England in response were 189-3 at close, as they opened up a 68-run lead courtesy of half-centuries from Zak Crawley (76) and Ollie Pope (57). Joe Root, on 15, and Harry Brook, on 25, will resume batting on Thursday’s second day.

Scores: West Indies 121 all out (41.4 overs); England 189-3 (40 overs)

Gus Atkinson bask in the admiration of his teammates.

West Indies assistant coach Jimmy Adams narrowed their opening day performance to England’s quality bowling and inexperience batting from his team.

“I think it was fairly bowling friendly conditions, and added to that England exploited the conditions really well. They had quality swing and they didn’t give us much freedom, and maybe a little bit of experience on our part as well. So I think a combination of those issues,” Adams said in a post-day conference.

Despite their current position, Adams remains optimistic his men can get back into the contest, provided they apply themselves accordingly.

“All of England’s bowlers are world class, so we can try (to comeback), but it is going to be difficult. But this is what Test cricket is all about, you have a bad day, you think about it, roll your sleeves up and come back on day two and try and work your way back into the match. We have seven wickets to get first of all and then hopefully we can bat for a day or two and see where we go from there,” he added.

After losing their top order in the opening session with just 44 runs on the board, Hodge and Athanaze attempted to rebuild the West Indies inning from 61-3 at lunch, but having already inflicted the wound, Atkinson duly obliged and finished what he started.

Louis, the first player to represent West Indies from St Kitts and Nevis, showed promise in a 34-run opening stand with captain Kraigg Brathwaite. Both seemed set for a positive knock before Brathwaite (six) dragged a wide delivery from Atkinson onto the stumps, while Jamaican Kirk McKenzie lasted only 14 deliveries, as he too was sent back by Atkinson for a solitary run.

Mikyle Louis receives his cap from West Indies legend Sir Viv Richards.

Louis then followed, as he edged one from England’s captain Ben Stokes, which Harry Brook collected low down at third slip.

When Athanaze edged to Joe Root, it sparked a typical West Indies collapse, as Jason Holder and Joshua da Silva came and went without scoring, while Hodge served up a catch off Chris Woakes to Ollie Pope, who took it in dazzling fashion.

Alzarri Joseph attempted a counter as he slashed four boundaries in a nine-ball cameo, before he became Atkinson’s sixth victim, and Shamar Joseph (zero), the seamer’s seventh. Motie then contributed 14 runs to push the visitors past the 120-run mark, as James Anderson, playing in his final Test series, accounted for Jayden Seales.

England in their turn at bat, lost Ben Duckett (three), who knicked a Jayden Seales delivery to da Silva. However, Crawley, who rode his luck, and Pope quickly steadied things as both scored at a decent tempo, before the latter was trapped in front by Holder.

Crawley’s luck ran out soon after and he was removed by an inswinging yorker from Seales, as West Indies briefly harboured hopes of clawing their way back into the contest, but Root and Brook kept them at bay for the remainder of the day.

Seales has 2-31 so far.

James Anderson took a wicket on the first day of his final Test but England debutant Gus Atkinson was the star of the show at Lord's.

Paceman Atkinson took seven wickets and went for just 45 runs as England dominated the opening day against West Indies, finishing with a lead of 68.

The tourists collapsed from 88-3 to 121 all out on Wednesday, with Atkinson taking three of his seven wickets during a phenomenal 35th over.

Alick Athanaze, Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva could not cope with the England new boy, who had previously dismissed Kraigg Brathwaite and Kirk McKenzie, with Atkinson following up with two more wickets before Anderson sent Jayden Seales packing.

England subsequently took control with the bat, recovering from the early loss of Ben Duckett, with Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope taking Ben Stokes' team to 123 before the latter succumbed to an edge on 57.

Crawley (76) followed when he was done leg before wicket by Holder, but Joe Root (15 not out) and Harry Brook (25 n.o) ensured there was no further loss before the close, which England reached at 189-3.

Data Debrief: Anderson bowing out, but the future's bright

It is truly the end of an era at Lord's over the coming days, and Anderson at least has the guarantee of one wicket from his farewell Test.

He is now on 701 wickets in the longest format, and 120 of those have come at Lord's.

But Atkinson proved there is life after Anderson. His figures of 7-45 are the second best any bowler has managed on men's Test debut for England, after Dominic Cork's 7-43 at Lord's in 1995.

Jamaican Fabian Allen had very little to do as South African Rilee Rossouw starred with an unbeaten 108 that lifted Jaffna Kings to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Colombo Strikers in Match 13 of the Lanka Premier League on Wednesday.

After Allen took one wicket for 26 runs to assist in restricting the Strikers to 188-8, Rossouw exploded in the Kings turn at bat, smashing 12 boundaries and six maximums in a 50-ball knock that secured victory at 190-3 with nine balls to spare, at Dambulla.

Scores: Colombo Strikers 188-8 (20 overs); Jaffna Kings 190-3 (18.3 overs)

After electing to bowl first, the Kings made early inroads, as Asitha Fernando removed Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who made a quick fire 11-ball 27, with the score at 34-1.

Allen took 1-26 from four overs.

Glenn Phillips, with a 32-ball 58, and Angelo Perera, who was left unbeaten on 34, added 86 for the second wicket, before the latter retired hurt. Phillips’ struck six fours and three sixes in his top score, before he fell in the 15th over.

Following his dismissal, the remaining Strikers batsmen struggled to find rhythm, as Fernando (2-38) and Azmatullah Omarzai (2-31) did most damage for the Kings, with Allen getting in on the act.

Meanwhile, the Kings run chase started shakily, as the lost openers Pathum Nissanka (six) and Kusal Mendis (five), with the score at 30-2, before the Rossouw show.

The aggressive left-hander found a useful partner in Avishka Fernando, who made 58 off 35 balls, including seven fours and two sixes. The two put together a record third-wicket partnership of 120 runs, which surpassed the franchise’s previous best of 110 between Shoaib Malik and Avishka Fernando.

Though Fernando fell in the 15th over to Shadab Khan, the damage was already done, and Rossouw pressed on to seal the win, their fourth of the campaign.

With the win, Kings assumed pole position on the league table with eight points, followed by Galle Marvels (six points), with the Strikers, Dambulla Sixers and Kandy Falcons, all on four points each.

The Barbados Royals have retained Hayley Matthews and Amanda-Jade Wellington ahead of the 2024 Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL).  

The Royals won the tournament last season and they are also bringing back Australia batter Laura Harris along with Chinelle Henry, Afy Fletcher, Aaliyah Alleyne and Qiana Joseph for their title defence. 

The new members of the squad are Sri Lankan opener Chamari Athapaththu and Australian wicket-keeper Georgia Redmayne. 

There are six more spots in the squad left to fill and these players will be selected at the WCPL draft which will take place in July. 

The 2024 Massy CPL will take place in Trinidad from 21 to 29 August will all seven matches at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.  

The Barbados Royals squad before the draft is as follows: Hayley Matthews, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Chamari Athapaththu, Chinelle Henry, Afy Fletcher, Aaliyah Alleyne, Qiana Joseph, Laura Harris, Georgia Redmayne

Stafanie Taylor will be back with the Guyana Amazon Warriors for the 2024 Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL).

Taylor led the Amazon Warriors to the final of the WCPL in 2023 where her team finished as runners up. 

She will be joined by fellow retained players Shabnim Ismail, Karishma Ramharack, Shemaine Campbelle, Natasha McClean and Shakera Selman. 

The newly signed players for the Amazon Warriors are Australian batter Erin Burns who won the WCPL with the Barbados Royals in 2023 and South African all-rounder Chloe Tryon who was with the Royals at the 2022 WCPL. 

There are seven more spots in the squad left to fill and six of these players will be selected at the WCPL draft which will take place in July. The final spot will be the last overseas player which will be confirmed before the start of the tournament. 

The 2024 Massy WCPL will take place in Trinidad from 21 to 29 August will all seven matches at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy. 

The Guyana Amazon Warriors squad before the draft is as follows: Stafanie Taylor, Shabnim Ismail, Karishma Ramharack, Shemaine Campbelle, Natasha McClean, Shakera Selman, Chloe Tryon, Erin Burns

Lord's will play host to the end of an era this week as James Anderson plays his final Test for England. 

The 41-year-old has not precisely gone out on his own terms, with the Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum setup opting to move on from an all-time bowling great.

Speaking ahead of his farewell appearance against West Indies on Monday, Anderson reiterated that he was bowling as well as he ever has, but said he had "made peace" with England's decision to revamp their attack.

Now, his focus will be going out on a high as he plays his 188th and final Test on the same ground where he made his debut 21 years ago. 

Ahead of an emotional few days at an iconic venue, we run through the Opta data surrounding Anderson's remarkable career.

The records

Anderson will, without a doubt, be remembered as the finest paceman England have ever produced. In fact, he is the all-time leading Test wicket-taker among fast bowlers from any country, managing 700 dismissals in his 187 matches.

Stuart Broad, his close friend and team-mate for 138 of those contests, is a distant second with 604 in 167 outings, with Australia's Glenn McGrath (563), Windies' Courtney Walsh (519) and South Africa's Dale Steyn (439) rounding out the top five. 

Among all bowlers in Test history, Anderson ranks third for wickets taken, behind Muthiah Muralidaran (800) and Australia icon Shane Wayne (708), some way clear of Anil Kumble (619) in fourth.

Anderson also edges out Broad in England's all-time appearance charts, though he will fall short of the global Test record held by Sachin Tendulkar, who represented India 200 times between 1989 and 2013.

While Anderson's legacy in the bowling stakes is set in stone, his contributions to the tail end of the batting order should also not be forgotten.

Anderson has 1,353 Test runs in total, with 687 coming at #11. No other batter in history can match that return at the position, with his highest score – a remarkable 81 versus India at Trent Bridge in 2014 – coming when he batted last.

The highs

That haul was certainly Anderson's best moment with the bat, but what about with the ball, doing what he does best? 

Anderson started as he meant to go on when making his Test bow against Zimbabwe in 2003, going 5-73 in the second innings for the first of 32 career five-wicket hauls.

His best Test figures came in September 2017, as he finished 7-42 in the third innings of a win over West Indies at Lords. His only other seven-wicket haul came in 2008 at Trent Bridge as New Zealand were vanquished.

In fact, 2017 was the most efficient year of his Test career, as he conceded just 17.6 runs per wicket taken. In no year where he played at last 10 matches did Anderson record an average worse than 33.9 (2011).

But fans will likely remember a couple of special Ashes performances most fondly. 

Having played a supporting role as England won a legendary home series in 2005, Anderson had to wait a while to experience a big moment against Australia, his first real taste of the rivalry coming as England were whitewashed 5-0 down under in 2006-07.

Twelve wickets in support of Broad (18) and Graeme Swann (14) helped England reclaim the urn on home soil in 2009, but it was in 2010-11 when he really made his mark.

England had not won an Ashes series in Australia for 24 years, while some had expressed doubts over Anderson's ability to take wickets on foreign soil, but he finished with a magnificent 24 dismissals as the tourists claimed a famous 3-1 series victory.

The urn was retained on home soil in 2013, the tone being set by a nail-biting 14-run victory in the opener, with Anderson claiming a five-for in each innings. 

The opponents

Anderson took 117 wickets in his 39 matches against Australia, but India were his favourite opponents, with 149 in 39 appearances against the Men in Blue.

His historic 700th wicket came against India earlier this year, with Kuldeep Yadav his victim as he became the first paceman in history to reach that landmark.

He took 103 versus South Africa, including his 100th, which came versus Jacques Kallis back in 2008.

This week's match, meanwhile, will give him the chance to add to his 87 wickets in matches versus West Indies. He previously reached the 500 mark against them in 2017, bowling Kraigg Braithwaite to kick-start that remarkable spell of 7-42.  

In terms of opposition players, India's Cheteshwar Pujara is the man to have fallen victim to Anderson most often, being dismissed by him on 12 occasions between 2014 and 2022.

Lord's: A fitting farewell

Anderson may be a Lancashire lad, but one might suggest Lord's has been his spiritual home since he made his red-ball bow on the ground 21 years ago.

He has taken 199 of his Test wickets on the ground in 28 matches there. Only Sri Lanka great Muralitharan has ever taken more at a particular venue, finishing his career with 166 in 24 matches at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

If Anderson adds to that haul on his farewell appearance this week, there won't be a dry eye in the house. 

England's decision to move on from James Anderson was made with the aim of preparing a new generation of bowlers for the next Ashes series, says Ben Stokes. 

Anderson – England's all-time leading wicket-taker with 700 in 187 red-ball matches – will play his final Test against West Indies at Lord's this week.

The 41-year-old is not going out on his own terms, insisting on Monday that he is bowling as well as he ever has but saying he has been forced to "make peace" with the decision.

Gus Atkinson will make his Test debut against the Windies, while Dillon Pennington and Matthew Potts are competing to replace Anderson when the three-match series moves to Nottingham.

England's revamp of their bowling attack comes after they failed to reclaim the Ashes on home soil last year, drawing a rain-affected series 2-2. 

They head down under for the next edition in 2025-26, and Stokes says they will use the intervening time to blood a new generation of talent.

"You look at how long it's been since we've played a Test match, I think it's been five months," England's red-ball captain told reporters on Tuesday. 

"When you have a lot of time off, you've got a lot of time to think about how you can take the team forward.

"I've been captain for two years, so it's about progressing this team. Especially for the first two years, we've been very focused on the here and now of what we need to do.

"But for me, I want to be able to implement stuff to push this team as far as they can go, not only as a collective but also as individuals.

"If you look at where we've got to go in 18 months' time, to Australia… we want to win that urn back.

"We've got an incredibly talented and exciting group of bowlers coming through at the moment, so giving them the experience of playing international cricket, getting Test matches under their belt, will put us in a much stronger position to win the Ashes."

Anderson's farewell comes at a venue where he has taken 119 Test wickets, the second-most of any player at a particular venue after Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo (166).

"He's an amazing bowler. There's no doubt that he could still go out there and play Test cricket, because he is good enough," Stokes said of Anderson. 

"But when we spoke with Jimmy, we laid it out with him and gave him our reasons, and he totally understood it.

"This week will all be about Jimmy, and rightly so, but I can tell you his main focus is about going out there, taking wickets and trying to win this game for England."

Mikyle Louis will open alongside Captain Kraigg Brathwaite for the West Indies in the first Test against England set to start on Wednesday at Lord’s.

Louis, the 23-year-old, comes into the team on the back of a brilliant season for the Leeward Islands in the 2024 West Indies Championship where he scored 682 runs in 14 innings at an average of 49.

He is coming off a first innings half-century in their warm-up game against the County Select XI last week.

Retaining their places in the order are Kirk McKenzie at three, Alick Athanaze at four and Kavem Hodge at five.

McKenzie and Athanaze scored three half-centuries between them in the warm-up fixture last week while Hodge scored a brilliant hundred so all three are coming into the first Test in some good form.

Also making their return to the West Indies test team after missing the Australia series in December are former Captain Jason Holder and young pacer Jayden Seales.

Both Holder and Seales recently enjoyed successful County Championship stints for Worcestershire and Sussex, respectively.

Gudakesh Motie will be the lone spinner in the XI while Holder and Seales will be joined in the pace attack by Alzarri and Shamar Joseph.

Josh a Da Silva also retains his place behind the stumps.

The full XI is as follows: Kraigg Brathwaite (C), Mikyle Louis, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Jason Holder, Joshua Da Silva, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph

All-rounder Jason Holder and seamer Jayden Seales are both optimistic that West Indies can deliver an efficient performance to not only better England in their three-match Test series, but more importantly, to offer some semblance of upliftment to the Caribbean, which was recently brushed by Hurricane Beryl.

Grenada, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Jamaica are just a few of the islands that faced the wrath of Beryl, and West Indies players are using the setback as motivation to demonstrate the resilience and determination of Caribbean people.

Holder, who reflected on West Indies’ previous tour of England during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, believes the first step to doing their part in assisting to overcome these tough times, is to put their best foot forward in the series, which bowls off at Lord’s on Wednesday.

“The buzz around the T20 World Cup and the success of the recent past has definitely revived the cricketing lives of the people in the Caribbean. I think any bit of spark and encouragement we can give them will be through our performances and that is what we pledged as a group to try and make them as proud as possible in these tough times,” Holder said.

“So coming back here in England four years later, we’re just looking to take it one step further. We won one Test match last time out of three. Yeah, two will be a lot better on this trip,” the Barbadian noted.

“I think it’s time someone breaks the shackles and there is no better time than now for us to come here and beat England, I think that will be an absolute great feat...I believe in every individual in this group,” he added.

Seales concurred.

“We are not doing it for ourselves. We are doing it for the people back home who support us. They have been hit by the hurricane so drastically. We will try our best to make them feel a sense of pride,” the Trinidadian seamer declared.

Though West Indies will enter the series determined to retain the Richards-Botham Trophy, which they secured via a hard-fought 1-0 victory over England in the Caribbean two years ago, the odds are firmly stocked against them, as the Caribbean side has not won a Test series in England since 1988.

But, Holder, who is returning to the Test team after almost a year, pointed to their recent performances in the longest format, particularly, their historic win against Australia earlier this year, as reason to believe.

That series which ended 1-1, gave rise to fast bowling sensation Shamar Joseph, who took seven wickets to secure an eight-run win for West Indies –their haul first Test win in Australia since 1997.

“I think the guys took a lot from that Test victory in Australia and for the group, we’ve been doing some positive things over the last couple of months and as a young side, the main thing is to keep learning,” Holder said.

“We’ll be faced with different challenges here in England and it is a matter of learning from them and being better the next day. What we have in the dressing room is some special talent and it is just a matter of playing some solid cricket and just believing,” he reasoned.

Having opted out of that Australia series to focus on T20 opportunities, Holder expressed his delight at being back in the fold.

“For me it gave me a renewed energy to come back to the group and try to be a part of something special again. I’m just happy that I’ve been able to still get the body up and going and being up for the challenge here. I missed Test cricket. This is my first Test match in a long time, so I’m looking forward to it,” Holder shared.

“We’re just here to play a good competitive series and we’re coming out to win this series. For me it’s not about Jimmy [Anderson] with all due respect. For me it’s about my contribution to the team and making sure each and every one is on point at the start of the first Test match and let’s play some solid cricket. Everything else around it is secondary in my mind,” he ended.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) Rising Stars Men's Under-19 Championship, initially set to commence on July 2, with a three-day competition preceding a 50-over tournament, has undergone significant changes due to Hurricane Beryl's passage earlier this week.

The hurricane affected regions including host country St. Vincent and the Grenadines, necessitating a delay and a subsequent alteration in the tournament's format.

The tournament will now begin on July 11 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The updated format will feature four rounds of two-day matches and five rounds of 50-over matches.

Despite these modifications, the tournament will still conclude on July 31 as initially planned, ensuring teams have a balance of match time to develop their skills and adequate time for recovery between matches. 

Cricket West Indies Director of Cricket, Miles Bascombe, stated, "Following an assessment by our Cricket Department, I am pleased to confirm that the pitches and outfields are in excellent condition. Additionally, electricity and water services have been fully restored at all venues and accommodation facilities."

The Barbados, Leeward Islands, Jamaica, and Guyana teams are scheduled to arrive today Monday, July 8. The Trinidad and Tobago team will arrive on Wednesday, July 10. The Windward Islands team is already present in St. Vincent.

Bascombe also commended all stakeholders for their effort in reorganizing and readying the tournament under challenging circumstances. "I want to extend my gratitude to everyone involved in the quick and efficient reorganization of the championship. Your dedication has ensured we can proceed as planned. I also commend the players for their patience and understanding during this period.” Bascombe said.

Pace bowler Gus Atkinson and wicket-keeper Jamie Smith will make their Test debuts for England against West Indies on Wednesday in what will be James Anderson's farewell at Lord's.

Anderson is preparing for his 188th and final Test this week as England start their three-match series against the Windies.

England's all-time leading wicket-taker will be joined by two new faces, however, as Surrey duo Atkinson and Smith have been named in Ben Stokes' confirmed XI.

Smith has got the nod ahead of Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes, who were both left out of Brendon McCullum's red-ball squad, while Atkinson will join Anderson and Chris Woakes in the bowling attack.

Shoaib Bashir, selected in the England squad ahead of his Somerset team-mate Jack Leach, will play his first home Test after the off-spinner won three caps on the India tour.

Stokes' team remains otherwise the same, with Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett opening ahead of Ollie Pope, with Joe Root, Harry Brook and the England captain making up the middle order.

England XI: 

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson.