England recall Pope and Lawrence for Pakistan Tests

London, 6 Aug-Surrey duo Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence have been recalled to the England squad for the first two Tests against Pakistan. The pair have been named in a 16-man squad before the series opener at Headingley on Wednesday 19 August but Jacob Bethell will miss the entire series through injury, with Jordan Cox to be promoted to number three.

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

England's 16-man squad for the first two Tests against Pakistan: 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.

Lawrence, who earned the last of his 14 Test caps in September 2024, is rewarded for his domestic form. The 29-year-old 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 slated to bat at six, filling a middle-order vacancy created by Stokes' retirement, but is far from a like-for-like replacement for the former captain.

Only Gus Atkinson (79 wickets) has taken more Test wickets for England than Stokes (78) since the start of June 2022. Lawrence, who bowls right-arm off-spin, has taken nine wickets from 178.2 overs in the County Championship this season.

There is no place in the squad for Sam Curran or Rehan Ahmed, who had both been tipped to replace Stokes. "We have selected a squad for the first two Tests that balances rising talent with the experience needed against a quality Pakistan team," said England's men's national selector, Marcus North.

"Sam Curran is a player of real value and interest in terms of that role. He's had a heavy summer workload and he's been playing at the highest level with a number of niggles and we don't feel he's quite right at the moment for this Test squad.

"Rehan has done nothing wrong - he's someone we highly regard. At this stage we felt that going in with what we see as our best six batters with Smudge [Jamie Smith] at seven is key. That's why Lawrence has got the nod at six."

Former vice-captain Pope was replaced by Bethell at number three for the final two Ashes Tests in Australia following an extended period of poor form and was subsequently dropped from the squad against New Zealand.

Like Lawrence, he has performed well in the County Championship, scoring 510 runs at 56.66, including five 50+ knocks, for Surrey, but will not automatically slot back into the side in Bethell's absence. Bethell suffered a knee injury during the ODI series against India in July and is set to be replaced by Cox, who made his Test debut against New Zealand at The Oval.

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 while England are sticking with spinner Shoaib Bashir, who featured in the first and third Tests against New Zealand after being overlooked during the Ashes. North also confirmed new head coach Fleming was involved in selecting the squad despite not taking over the role formally until after the Pakistan series.

"Stephen Fleming was involved in a lot of discussions," said North. "I think that was really important. "Certainly from my perspective, as soon as he got appointed, I reached out and we had long conversations. It was important that our selection reflects the strategy and thinking long term moving into the winter when Stephen takes over the team."

North was also asked about the prospect of former captain Stokes reversing his international retirement. "Ben made the decision to retire and it's great to see him playing well and enjoying his cricket at Durham," he said.

"But until he reverses that decision and does become available for selection my job is to look at the players that are, and make sure that we become a strong, competitive England cricket team and work our way up those Test world rankings."

For those who were hoping for a brave new world, there may be disappointment. This is a squad with plenty of familiar faces and no potential debutants. Ollie Pope and Brydon Carse return for the first time since the Ashes and Dan Lawrence is selected two years on from his last Test appearance

The big question was who was going to replace Ben Stokes as the all-rounder, but that isn't entirely obvious. There is no place for Sam Curran, James Coles or Rehan Ahmed, who is dropped, which means Lawrence, if selected, might find his part-time spin plays a significant role.BBC