Bairstow and Onions in England squad to face West Indies

Jonny Bairstow has been named in an England Test squad for the first time. The 22-year-old Yorkshireman, one of a 13-man squad for the first Test against the West Indies at Lord's this week, can expect to bat at No6 if selected. That is a possibility in the absence of Ravi Bopara, who suffered a thigh injury two days ago which appears to have ruled him out of contention. There is also a place in the squad for the seamers Steve Finn, Tim Bresnan and Graham Onions as England seek to cover all bases in a pace attack set to be led by James Anderson and a fit-again Stuart Broad. There was no place for Monty Panesar after his inclusion in the side during England's winter matches in the sub-continent. Bairstow, who has played in six one-day internationals and six Twenty20s for England, is the only player among the 13 yet to be capped at Test level. Since making a sparkling debut in a one-day international against India in Cardiff last September, he has also continued to impress in the longer format this year with two centuries already in Division Two of the County Championship. If selected on Thursday, Bairstow will follow in his late father's footsteps as an England Test player. David Bairstow played four Tests for his country between 1979 and 1981. The national selector Geoff Miller said: "Jonny Bairstow has put in a number of impressive performances both for England Lions and Yorkshire and has been working hard on the England performance programme over the last couple of years. He is an exciting young player, who now has an opportunity to experience the Test environment." Miller also explained the presence of five seamers in the 13, as England seek to consolidate their No1 Test status in three matches against West Indies. "We have selected a very strong 13-man squad which allows us to consider a number of options before making a decision about Thursday's side," he said. "We have included five seam bowlers who have all demonstrated that they are capable of winning Test matches for England." He acknowledged England's awkward winter, against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates and then away to Sri Lanka, after reaching the top of the International Cricket Council rankings last summer. Miller said: "This is an important period for us following a challenging winter where we learnt some valuable lessons, and we are preparing for a highly competitive series against a West Indies side full of quality players."