England have turned to Dan Lawrence to replace Ben Stokes in their first Test since his retirement, and thrust Jordan Cox in at No 3 with Jacob Bethell ruled out of the entire series against Pakistan.
Lawrence will be carded at No 6 as a batsman who bowls handy spin in a much-changed England squad for the first two Tests against Pakistan. Joe Root will take over as captain and there are recalls for Ollie Pope, Sam Cook and Brydon Carse.
Pope is the spare batsman in the squad while also providing wicketkeeping cover for Jamie Smith, while Cook and Carse are among a pool of seven seam bowlers. Shoaib Bashir is retained in the group but will probably lose his place in the XI, with England opting for an all-pace attack. There is no spot for James Rew, Sonny Baker or Rehan Ahmed, who were all part of the squad that lost to New Zealand in June.
The loss of Bethell to a knee injury is a blow for an England squad in transition after the retirement of Stokes. Bethell had been bedding in at No 3 since coming in for Pope in Melbourne on Boxing Day, but was ruled out of the Hundred with an injury sustained in last month’s ODIs against India.
Cox made his debut at the Oval last month, batting at No 7, but is a malleable player who has been plugged in at first drop in Bethell’s absence. He bats No 4 for Essex and occasionally opened for Kent in his younger days, but will require significant discipline at No 3.
Lawrence is the third-highest run-scorer in the County Championship this year, and has made five centuries for Surrey. Alongside Root, he will be charged with chipping in with the ball, particularly in the absence of Bethell.
Other options in that role would have been Will Jacks, who played in the Ashes, Sussex’s James Coles or Ahmed. England do not have many seam-bowling all-rounder options, especially as Sam Curran is carrying a niggle that has limited his bowling of late.
England’s first-choice pace attack will be Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue, but the proximity of the Hundred to the start of the series means they may have to juggle their resources. Cook has played just one Test, against Zimbabwe last year, and might have feared his international career was over when he was left out of the Ashes squad. He has leapt ahead of Baker in the pecking order.
England have won just two of their last 10 Tests so will be desperate to kick-start a new era against a weak Pakistan side, who are coming off a 1-1 draw in the West Indies after winning their first overseas Test for three years. The three Tests are at Headingley, Lord’s and Edgbaston.
Marcus North, England’s national selector, said: “We have selected a squad for the first two Tests that balances rising talent with the experience needed against a quality Pakistan team.
“Dan Lawrence returns following an exceptional season so far with Surrey and we believe he has the right level of experience, maturity and skill to complement our middle order.
“Jordan Cox is well regarded as one of the most exciting talents in English cricket and will have the opportunity to bat at three in place of Jacob Bethell, who sadly misses this series through injury.”
The return of Pope provides experienced cover with the bat and gloves, and some leadership, given he has captained England on five occasions.
England’s squad for Pakistan Test series
Joe Root (Yorkshire, captain)
Jofra Archer (Sussex)
Gus Atkinson (Surrey)
Shoaib Bashir (Derbyshire)
Harry Brook (Yorkshire)
Brydon Carse (Durham)
Sam Cook (Essex)
Jordan Cox (Essex)
Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)
Matthew Fisher (Surrey)
Emilio Gay (Durham)
Dan Lawrence (Surrey)
Ollie Pope (Surrey)
Ollie Robinson (Sussex)
Jamie Smith (Surrey)
Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire)