Averaging a modest 30 after 14 Tests and at the age of 34, not quite brimming with youth, there was a chance England could've looked past Joe Denly for the much-awaited start of this Test summer after COVID-19 hiatus against West Indies and instead hand young Dan Lawrence his debut in Southampton. 

But chief selector Ed Smith had no qualms justifying Denly's inclusion, saying the man has been a "big part" of team's top six through his timely contributions, which went his way as England announced its 13-man playing squad against the Calypso Kings. 

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"As a top-order batter Joe would obviously love to convert those starts into hundreds and big hundreds - that goes for any batsman - but also it is fully understood that he has contributed to good team batting performances," Smith told a conference call on Saturday (July 4). 

"The England team has been batting with more consistency and solidity throughout the order and Joe has been a big part of that."

Jonny Bairstow's form in Test matches went against him, as the selectors opted to keep him out despite a spot being vacant by the absence of regular skipper Joe Root, who had to leave England's bio-secure bubble in order to be with his wife for the birth of his second child. 

Ben Stokes will be captaining England on the occasion which will mark the return of international cricket amid the pandemic, with Root set to go on seven-day self-isolation before returning for the next two Tests in Manchester.

Apart from Bairstow, off-spinner Moeen Ali's is another big exclusion from the squad and reserves picked for the Ageas Bowl. Moeen has only just returned after his break from Test matches since being dropped after the first game of the last year's Ashes at home. 

"With Moeen and Jonny part of the calculation is obviously that they have been in the white-ball squad and been very good performers in white-ball cricket," said Smith. 

"You know if they're not in the 11 here it's good that they're playing cricket in the white-ball team. Moeen being available is good news for the talent in the spin department but it's also the case that Dom did very well in South Africa."

"We're glad that Moeen is available again but there's no change: Dom Bess is in possession, and Jack Leach takes the reserve spot," he added. 

(Inputs from AFP)