England name 16-man squad for first two Tests against Pakistan with Joe Root as captain

England announced a 16-member squad on Thursday, August 6 for the first two Test matches against Pakistan as the team moves on from Bazball. Joe Root will captain the side and Dan Lawrence has been recalled to the Test squad for the first time in two years.

The series forms part of the ongoing World Test Championship cycle. Root succeeds Ben Stokes as captain after Stokes retired from international cricket following the series against New Zealand. Brendon McCullum’s spell as Test coach ended at the same time, with Stephen Fleming appointed as his successor. Fleming will not take charge for the Pakistan series; assistant coach Marcus Trescothick will lead the team.

Jacob Bethell has been ruled out of the entire Pakistan series after sustaining a right knee injury during the ODI series against India. He will be replaced by Jordan Cox, who is expected to bat at No.3. "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," said Marcus North.

Dan Lawrence, the second-leading runscorer in Division One of the County Championship this season, has been named at No.6. "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," said England national selector Marcus North. Ollie Pope and Brydon Carse have been recalled to the Test squad for the first time since the Ashes series loss to Australia.

Sam Cook, who made his Test debut in the one-off match against Zimbabwe last summer, is also included in the selection. The first Test will be played at Headingley.

The series begins on August 19 at Headingley, with Root to captain England for the first time since 2022 in front of his home crowd. Joe Root (c), 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 Robinson, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue