Ben Foakes changed England team dynamism, says Sir Alastair Cook

England will take on the Windies in the first Test at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, from January 23 onwards and former England captain Alastair Cook, who has recently been honoured with the knighthood, praised wicket-keeper-batsman Ben Foakes ahead of the series. Foakes, a wicket-keeper-batsman, made a dream international debut by scoring a match-winning century against Sri Lanka in Galle last November and according to Sir Cook, the 25-year-old has changed the dynamic of the Three Lions side.

England should not have too difficulty in winning the series against a Windies side which has struggled in the longer format of late and are located much below (eighth) their opponents (third) in ICC rankings. The two old foes in Test cricket have played each other 154 times since 1928 with the Windies having a 55-48 lead while 51 matches have been drawn. The Three Lions have beaten India and Sri Lanka in their last two series while the Caribbeans have been thumped by India and Bangladesh.

Foakes had a fabulous international debut

Foakes seems to have cemented his place in the Test team after playing just three games in which he scored 277 runs at an average of 69-plus. His opportunity came after regular keeper Jonny Bairstow was ruled out of the Lanka tour with an injury and Cook is of the opinion that Foakes, who plays for Surrey, deserves to play for England for his presence gives the side a right balance.

“Foakes definitely deserves to play so it becomes a balancing act to get the team right. It’s very hard to get the right amount of specialist batting now,” Cook was quoted as saying by BBC.

Bairstow is also back and after hitting a century against Sri Lanka in his latest Test innings, he is likely to feature as a specialist batsman in the Caribbeans. He also scored a 98 against West Indies President’s XI at the Three Ws Oval, Cave Hill, in a pratice game. “That balance of four-seamers and two spinners covers all bases in the Windies because if the pitch turns, you’ll be fine. But Foakes coming and scoring that hundred has changed the dynamic of the side.”

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