LONDON (Kashmir English): The England and Wales Cricket Board has announced a 16-man squad for the first two matches of the three-match Test series against Pakistan, starting on August 19. The first match will be played at Headingley.
Joe Root will lead the team for the first time as permanent Test captain after the retirement of Ben Stokes.
Dean Lawrence, Ollie Pope and Sam Cook have returned to the squad. Jordan Cox, who made his Test debut earlier against New Zealand, is to bat at three in place of the injured Jacob Bethell.
The cricket board said that Bethell sustained a right knee injury during the ODI series against India last month and is set to be sidelined for the entirety of the Pakistan Test Series.
Sam Cook has played only one Test against Zimbabwe last summer, while Brydon Carse and Ollie Pope return for the first time since last year’s Ashes Series.
England selector Marcus North said that a balanced squad has been selected with experience and young talent 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,” he said.
Spinner Shoaib Bashir has been retained in the squad, while the fast bowlers include Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Fisher, Olly Robinson, Brydon Carse and Sam Cook.
Brydon Carse has also returned to the Test team after recovering from injury.
England Squad
Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robins, Jamie Smith, and Josh Tongue
Pakistan Squad
Earlier, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced a 16-member national squad for the tour of the West Indies and England.
Pakistan’s squad includes Babar Azam (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Owais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Muhammad Abbas, Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Rizwan, Muhammad Owais Zafar, Muhammad Ghazi Ghauri, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Obaid Shah.
