Surrey’s Dan Lawrence and Ollie Pope are recalled to England’s Test squad, with Gus Atkinson, Matthew Fisher and Jamie Smith also named in the 16-player squad for the opening two Rothesay Tests against Pakistan.
Lawrence, the second-leading runscorer in Division One of the Rothesay County Championship this season, is recalled two years after his most recent Test appearance against Sri Lanka and is set to bat at six. The Surrey all-rounder has been prolific with the bat in the County Championship, smashing 788 runs and five centuries, including a first-class best of 218. His runs have come at an average of above 65 whilst striking at over 80.
Pope is also rewarded for his rich vein of form in this season’s County Championship, having scored 510 runs at an impressive average of over 66.
England Men National Selector, Marcus North, 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 3 in place of Jacob Bethell, who sadly misses this series through injury.”
The series begins at Headingley on Wednesday 19 August.
England Men’s Test squad (16 player):
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)
Jordan Cox, who made his Test debut earlier this summer against New Zealand at the Kia Oval, is to bat at three in place of the injured Jacob Bethell.
Bethell sustained a right knee injury during the Metro Bank ODI series against India last month and is set to be sidelined for the entirety of the Rothesay Test Series against Pakistan.
Sam Cook is also included having played one Test against Zimbabwe last summer, while Brydon Carse and Ollie Pope return for the first time since last winter’s Ashes Series defeat in Australia.
Joe Root will captain the Test team in a permanent capacity for the first time since 2022 in front of his home crowd at Headingley.
