England have axed Joe Denly for the second Test against West Indies in Manchester to make way for captain Joe Root, who missed the series opener in Southampton last week to attend the birth of his second child.

Batting at No.3, Denly scored 18 and 29 in England’s four-wicket defeat at the Ageas Bowl and has now played 15 Tests with an average of only 29.54.

"It's never an easy decision, never easy having to leave someone out,” skipper Root told reporters on the eve of the second Test.

"With Joe, he's done a brilliant job for us over a period of time - he's helped show our identity as a side and how we played moving forward.

"He'll be as frustrated as anyone that he's not been able to convert those opportunities. You watch Zak's progression since he's been involved in the team and his game has continued to get stronger," the English skipper added.

Root's return also means that Ben Stokes will resume his vice-captaincy role. The ace all-rounder became England's 81st Test captain in Southampton.

In a press release, the ECB also confirmed that pacers James Anderson and Mark Wood are rested for the second Test while left-arm seamer Sam Curran is added to the squad alongside Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson, who gets his maiden call-up to the senior squad.

“Lancashire seamer Saqib Mahmood left the Test party after the first Test and will join up with England’s white-ball training group on Thursday at the Ageas Bowl ahead of the Royal London Series against Ireland starting later this month,” ECB’s media release further stated.

England Squad for Second Test:

Joe Root (c), Jofra Archer, Dominic Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes