Ben Foakes says youthful England ‘champing at the bit’ ahead of West Indies tour

The controversial omission of James Anderson and Stuart Broad has dominated the build-up to England’s tour of the West Indies but Ben Foakes insists a much-changed squad is straining at the leash to bring “new energy” to the Test side.

England touched down in Antigua on Friday with a new-look group, shorn of eight players who bore the scars of a 4-0 Ashes thrashing and with Paul Collingwood as interim head coach following Chris Silverwood’s sacking.

The shadows of the country’s two leading wicket-takers loom largest of all, but for the likes of Foakes, Matt Fisher, Saqib Mahmood, Matt Parkinson and Alex Lees the next few games represent a huge opportunity.

With just one win in the last 14 Tests the team is close to rock bottom in terms of results and some inexperienced players have been asked to help lead the recovery.

While the gap left by Anderson and Broad – numbering 321 caps and 1,177 wickets – will take some filling, there is no shortage of enthusiasm from those with slimmer records to lean on.

“I’ve seen the whole ‘reset’ and ‘refresh’ sort of stuff thrown about. I’m sure that stuff will be talked about,” the Surrey wicketkeeper said after arriving for the three-match series.

“The senior players who aren’t here are obviously incredible cricketers for England, but when you bring in new guys it does bring new energy naturally, because everyone is buzzing to be there for the first time.

“This is a young squad and that brings excitement and the exuberance of youth. In general I’d say definitely there is a vibe of that. The mood seems pretty high. Obviously I wasn’t around for too long out in Australia, but it obviously looked like a tough tour. I think our young group all just are champing at the bit to get going.”

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