BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: West Indies captain Jason Holder won the toss and chose to bat first against England at the start of the first Test in Barbados on Wednesday, as the visitors left out Stuart Broad.
Seeking to get their campaign for a first Test series triumph in the Caribbean since 2004 off to a winning start, England opted to omit senior seam bowler Broad on a pitch expected to offer more assistance to spinners than previously anticipated.
Adil Rashid, one of England´s successful trio of spinners in the historic 3-0 series in Sri Lanka at the end of last year, takes Broad´s place in the final XI at the Kensington Oval.
West Indies are giving a debut to John Campbell, the 25-year-old Jamaican who will open the batting with vice-captain Kraigg Brathwaite.
In contrast to their opponents, the hosts go into the opening match of a three-game series with four frontline seamers as lanky pacer Alzarri Joseph, whose last Test was against England in Birmingham 17 months ago, makes a return to the team with left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican omitted.
England are on a five-match winning streak while the West Indies have lost their last four Tests, in India and Bangladesh, all inside three days.
Teams
West Indies: Jason Holder (captain), Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Darren Bravo, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich (wicketkeeper), Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph, Shannon Gabriel
England: Joe Root (captain), Keaton Jennings, Rory Burns, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Ben Foakes (wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Jimmy Anderson
Umpires: Chris Gaffaney (NZL), Rod Tucker (AUS)
Match Referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)