Back to the Future

England went back to the future today in their announcement of the Test squad for the three match series in the West Indies.

Jonathan Trott was recalled for the first time since leaving the 2013/2014 Ashes tour due to a stress related illness. Trott's progress seemed to be stagnating last April when he stopped playing for his county Warwickshire. But he returned to the Bears team after sessions with psychologist Dr. Steve Peters and ended the season with 628 first class runs.

Trott was given the captaincy of the England Lions tour of South Africa in January and the 33-year-old right handed batsman returned the favour by scoring a double hundred.

National selector James Whitaker told the BBC that Trott is a "player of proven international pedigree and we are delighted to welcome him back into the squad."

England may well benefit from Trott's experience (49 Tests, 3,763 runs at an average of 46.45) with a young squad that includes three of Trott's uncapped Lions team mates.

Yorkshire's successful 2014 county season was rewarded with call-ups for the county's 27-year-old leg-spinner Adil Rashid, and opening batsman Adam Lyth, also 27. The left-handed Lyth may have to bat at Number Three if the selectors prefer the left-right hand combination of Alastair Cook and Trott taking the new ball. Durham seamer, Mark Wood, 25, completes the Lions 2015 graduates and England will be relying on his ability to reverse swing the ball in the Caribbean.

Adil Rashid took 49 wickets for Yorkshire last season

England will soon be without a bowling coach as it was announced this week that David Saker will be returning to his homeland to coach the Melbourne Renegades in the next season of Australia's Big Bash League. 

Saker succeeded Ottis Gibson as England's bowling coach in 2010 and was instrumental in England's charge to the top of the ICC world rankings in 2011. However, England's tame bowling in the recent World Cup, typified by lack of variation, short lengths and death-bowling of slow bouncers instead of yorkers, highlighted the need for a change.

England have made a change to the top of the order by dropping opener Sam Robson. The enigma of Steven Finn continues with an under-par performance at the World Cup leading him to also be dropped from the Test side. Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali also miss out with injures that kept them out of the 9 wicket win over Afghanistan.

England's Player of the Winter James Taylor isn't rewarded with a call-up to the Test team but there are places for his One Day team mates Chris Jordan and James Tredwell, as well as Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett. Senior bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad will now have to show their experience and lead by example in taking wickets.

Unsurprisingly, Kevin Pietersen was left out of the squad, with Whitaker telling the BBC that the 34-year-old batsman is "not part" of England's plans and that the selectors "haven't had discussions at all" about his inclusion. 

The Test series in the West Indies begins in Antigua on April 13 will be the first of 17 Test matches over the next year including a home Ashes series and an away tour to top-ranked South Africa.

The Test squad was announced the day before Bangladesh play India in the World Cup quarter final in which England had hoped to be playing in. England will now have to put their disastrous World Cup campaign behind them and work together as a team. Test captain Alastair Cook told the BBC that the selectors were "wrong" to drop him from the One Day team. 

Cook said that the "lads were shell shocked from [losing] the first two games. That's when you need real leadership to help steer you through that. I would have loved to have had the opportunity that was taken away from me."  

Cook now has that opportunity with the Test team in a year that will either restore much needed pride or put more pressure on the England management to change the national set-up.

Full England squad for tour of West Indies:

Alastair Cook (capt, Essex), Adam Lyth (Yorkshire), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire), Gary Ballance, Joe Root (both Yorkshire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Jos Buttler (wk, Lancashire), Jonathan Bairstow (wk), Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett (all Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Mark Wood (Durham), James Tredwell (Kent)