England captain Joe Root celebrates after taking the wicket of Quinton de Kock during Day Four of the Third Test between South Africa and England at St George’s Park on January 19, 2020 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Paternity leave: England captain to miss first West Indies Test

England vs West Indies: Joe Root will miss next week’s first Test the England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed on Tuesday.

by James Richardson

30-06-2020 17:01

in Cricket

The England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed on Tuesday that Test captain Joe Root would not take part in the first match of the three-match series.

Root will instead be spending time with his wife, Carrie, who is expecting the couple’s second child.

Daddy Root to miss the return of cricket

England are training at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, one of two bio-secure venues being used for the series against the West Indies.

The men from the Caribbean are currently preparing for the series encamped at the second venue Old Trafford, though rain has proven an obstacle to their work.

An Intra-squad match for the West Indies at Old Trafford was hampered by rain while England began playing their own warm-up at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday without skipper Root.

The first Test will start at Hampshire’s headquarters on Wednesday 8 July and be played under new conditions and protocols handed down by the ICC and UK government.

Root’s absence had been widely expected with the ECB aware that the skipper would need to be isolated if he attended the hospital where his wife was giving birth in.

Under health protocols for the bio-secure series, Root will begin a seven-day self-isolation period at home once he leaves the hospital with his family, in a measure designed to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

The reliable heart of an often fragile top-order England will miss their skipper and are eager to ensure that he is able to play the second and third matches of the series.

The second Test at Old Trafford in Manchester starts on 16 July with all three matches set to be played behind closed doors.

Reinstated England Vice-captain Ben Stokes will lead the Three Lions for the first time in Southampton if preparations go according to plan.

Wicketkeeper Jos Buttler will assume the role of vice-captain on the English South Coast in a match that will mark the return of international cricket.

The protocols in place mean that both sides have selected enlarged squads and are preparing with reserves in tow as players need to remain in the so-called bubble.

England vs West Indies squads

West Indies squad: Jason Holder (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Kraigg Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich, Chemar Holder, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach.

Reserve squad; Sunil Ambris, Joshua da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Keon Harding, Kyle Mayers, Preston McSween, Marquino Mindley, Shane Moseley, Anderson Phillip, Oshane Thomas, Jomel Warrican.

England training squad: Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Dominic Bess (Somerset), James Bracey (Gloucestershire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Rory Burns (Surrey), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Sam Curran (Surrey), Joe Denly (Kent), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Lewis Gregory (Somerset), Keaton Jennings (Lancashire), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Craig Overton (Somerset), Jamie Overton (Somerset), Matthew Parkinson (Lancashire), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Dom Sibley (Warwickshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Olly Stone (Warwickshire), Amar Virdi (Surrey), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).