England start post-Stokes era by recalling Lawrence, Cox and Pope for Pakistan series

Life after Ben Stokes begins with a reshuffle of England’s Test squad. Ollie Pope, Dan Lawrence and Sam Cook have all earned recalls for the start of the three-match series against Pakistan, while Jordan Cox also returns and will bat at No 3 after Jacob Bethell was ruled out of the series through injury.

Joe Root’s first assignment back as permanent Test captain gets underway at Headingley on 19 August and a 16-strong squad means plenty of options at his disposal. Without a genuine all-rounder post-Stokes, the big question will be whittling this number down to give Root a balanced XI.

While Shoaib Bashir is retained as the front-line spinner in 16, the recall for Lawrence reflects more than just sitting on top of the run-scoring charts in Division One of the County Championship. Lawrence is confirmed to bat at No 6 but his off-breaks may allow Root to play four frontline quicks at his home ground.

Most eye-catching is the confirmed promotion of Cox to No 3, having batted at No 7 during his debut at the Oval back in June. Pope’s return after being dropped for Bethell during the winter’s Ashes series will begin in reserve, albeit he will bring experience to a squad that is otherwise lacking bar Root.

Marcus North, England 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 3 in place of Jacob Bethell, who sadly misses this series through injury.”

Bethell’s absence points to a significant injury. The 22-year-old suffered an issue with his right knee during the final one-day international against India last month and, following scans, is already missing the entirety of The Hundred.

Another player making their first Test squad since the winter is Brydon Carse, having been England’s leading wicket-taker during the 4-1 Ashes defeat but then missed the first half of the summer with wrist and finger injuries.

Both Carse and Cook, capped once last summer against Zimbabwe, make up a six-strong stable of fast bowlers selected for the first two Tests, along with Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Fisher and Ollie Robinson.

The Pakistan series is the first since Brendon McCullum was stood down as Test head coach and asked to focus on the white-ball sides. But his replacement, Stephen Fleming, is not due to arrive until September, leaving Marcus Trescothick to serve as interim head coach in the meantime.

How Fleming fills his backroom staff is still to be confirmed, with incumbent coaches in the set-up waiting to find out whether they will continue to work across formats or join McCullum by specialising in limited overs cricket.

Changes are expected, however, with a report by 7News in Australia on Wednesday claiming that Fleming has already made an informal approach to Mike Hussey about becoming England’s new Test batting coach.

Hussey, the former Australia middle order player, is currently working at Welsh Fire in the Hundred and enjoyed a short stint as a consultant coach with England’s men when they won the T20 World Cup in late 2022.