BIRMINGHAM: England won the toss on Saturday and chose to bowl first against West Indies on day three of the third and final test, after rain had completely washed out the first two days at Edgbaston.
England, seeking to sweep the series 3-0, controversially omitted Stuart Broad meaning they have now opted to rest their two leading fast bowlers after James Anderson was left out of the original squad.
Their places have gone to Graham Onions and Steven Finn. West Indies made four changes to their side that was beaten at Trent Bridge, as the world's top-ranked batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul missed out with a side injury. Struggling batsman Kirk Edwards also made way as Assad Fudadin came in for his test debut and Narsingh Deonarine was recalled. Off-spinner Sunil Narine was also given a test debut in place of Shane Shillingford, while fast bowler Tino Best cameback for his first test appearance in three years.
It is the first test match in England since 1964, when Australia were touring, to lose days one and two to the weather.
Teams: England: Andrew Strauss (captain), Alastair Cook, JonathanTrott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Jonny Bairstow, Matt Prior(wicketkeeper), Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, Steven Finn, Graham Onions.
West Indies: Adrian Barath, Kieran Powell, Darren Bravo, Assad Fudadin, Marlon Samuels, Narsingh Deonarine, DeneshRamdin, Darren Sammy, Tino Best, Sunil Narine, Ravi Rampaul.
