Stokes to pit wits against Buttler in intra-squad battle

BEN STOKES will have the chance to hone his captaincy skills today as England’s players begin a three-day internal squad match in which they will compete for places in the team for next week’s first Test.

The all-rounder, who will deputise for skipper Joe Root who misses the opener against the West Indies because of the birth of his second child, will lead one team in Southampton against another captained by Jos Buttler.

Buttler will be vice-captain next week, his nomination appearing to settle one of the key selection questions. He has not nailed down his position as wicketkeeper-batsman and there had been some suggestion he could be steered towards one-day specialism this summer.

The bulk of the team’s established pecking order should remain intact.

■ SIX Pakistan players who tested positive for coronavirus last week and had to stay home have tested negative for a second time in three days and been cleared to join the squad in England for their tour. The six were opening batsman Fakhar Zaman, all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez, leg-spinner Shadab Khan, wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan and fast bowlers Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Hasnain. All of England’s players and management were negative in their latest round of tests.

Among the positions still to be tussled over are Root’s replacement at No.4, the first-choice spinner and which fast bowlers make the XI.

The likeliest top-order options are split between the two sides, Dom

Sibley and Zak Crawley on one, with Rory Burns and Joe Denly in the other, while Dan Lawrence and Jonny Bairstow are each pencilled in to Root’s usual spot.

In the spin department, Moeen Ali and Jack Leach line up for Team Stokes while Dom Bess and Matt Parkinson represent Team Buttler.

England coach Chris Silverwood said: ‘You know the people who are the mainstay of our side but this is a great opportunity for some of the other players to show us what they can do in this game.

‘We’ve mixed the sides up to make it as competitive as possible and to have a good game going into this first Test. I’m sure there’ll be a few who are very keen to impress.

‘We tend to look at ourselves as one cricketing family behind these closed doors down here but, certainly on the field, I expect hard cricket out there.’