Pope and Lawrence recalled to England squad for first two Tests against Pakistan

Surrey pair Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence have been recalled to England's squad for the first two Tests against Pakistan, having been named in a 16-man group ahead of the series opener at Headingley on Wednesday 19 August.

The three-match series is England's first Test outing since the retirement of captain Ben Stokes and the sacking of head coach Brendon McCullum; Joe Root will captain the side for the first time since being reappointed to the role in July while Marcus Trescothick will serve as interim head coach. Stephen Fleming has been confirmed to begin his tenure as head coach against South Africa in December.

England's 16-man squad for the first two Tests against Pakistan is: 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. Jacob Bethell will miss the entire series through injury. Ollie Pope averages 34.55 in 64 Tests for England.

Dan Lawrence, who won the last of his 14 Test caps in September 2024, has been rewarded for strong domestic form; he is the second-highest run-scorer in Division One of the County Championship with 788 runs at 65.66, including five centuries in 13 innings. He is expected to bat at six, filling a middle-order vacancy created by Stokes' retirement, and bowls right-arm off-spin. Lawrence has taken nine wickets from 178.2 overs in the County Championship this season.

Former vice-captain Ollie Pope was replaced by Bethell at number three for the final two Ashes Tests and was subsequently left out of the squad for the series against New Zealand. In the County Championship this season he has scored 510 runs at 56.66, including five 50+ knocks for Surrey. Despite his domestic form, he will not automatically reclaim a place in the side in Bethell's absence.

Jacob Bethell suffered a knee injury during the ODI series against India in July and is set to be replaced by Jordan Cox, who made his Test debut against New Zealand at the Oval, at number three. England's men's 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 three in place of Jacob Bethell, who sadly misses this series through injury."

Essex's Sam Cook returns to the squad for the first time since last summer; the 29-year-old seamer made his international debut against Zimbabwe in May 2025 and was named in the squad for the five-match series against India but did not feature. Brydon Carse returns after a broken wrist ruled him out of the Indian Premier League and the start of the Test summer. England are retaining spinner Shoaib Bashir, who featured in the first and third Tests against New Zealand after being overlooked during the Ashes.

The recalled players and replacements have been named for the first two Tests, which begin with the series opener at Headingley on Wednesday 19 August.