Dan Lawrence to open as England hand Essex’s Jordan Cox maiden call-up for Sri Lanka Test

Dan Lawrence will open the batting in Test cricket for the first time against Sri Lanka this month, with batsman Jordan Cox receiving a maiden call-up and fast bowler Olly Stone recalled after three years away.

The trio are the beneficiaries of two injuries. Zak Crawley, as reported by Telegraph Sport, will miss the entire three-match series against Sri Lanka with a broken finger on his right hand. He requires surgery and may miss the remainder of the season but is expected to be fit for the tour of Pakistan in October.

Dillon Pennington, the uncapped Nottinghamshire seamer who was in the squad throughout the series against West Indies last month, is also ruled out. He picked up a hamstring injury playing for Northern Superchargers in the Hundred, and is out for the rest of the season, putting on hold his wait for an international debut.

Despite being a favourite of Ben Stokes, Lawrence has not played a Test since Joe Root was captain, in March 2022. Lawrence has patiently carried the drinks for the past 18 months waiting for an opportunity, which has now emerged out of position as an opener. Lawrence has been an understudy opener for England in the past but has rarely done it at domestic level, where he normally bats in the middle order. As a tall, attacking right-hander, he will slot in alongside Duckett as a like-for-like replacement for Crawley, who has opened in every Test under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.

Cox moved to Essex from Kent this winter as replacement for Lawrence, who moved to Surrey. Now he has been added to the England squad to slot into Lawrence’s spot as the spare batsman. He has 763 Championship runs at No 4 this season, at an average of 69 and a strike rate of 67. While this is his first Test call-up, he was an unused member of the T20 squad to Pakistan in 2022.

The 23-year-old could also tour Pakistan as England’s spare wicketkeeper, ahead of Ben Foakes and Jonny Bairstow. Cox left Kent in search of more regular keeping opportunities but has not taken the gloves yet this season because of a finger injury. However, he has now been passed fit to keep. He has also suffered from appendicitis and tonsillitis this season, and only returned to action in the Hundred this weekend.

Stone has been beset by injury throughout his career, limiting him to just three Test caps since his debut in 2019. However, England are desperate to add pacy options to their attack and, having strung fixtures together for Nottinghamshire, the 30-year old fits the bill.

England were consistent in their selection against West Indies, with Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and rookie Gus Atkinson their preferred pace combination. Stone will join Matthew Potts in trying to break into the side. There is no recall for Ollie Robinson, despite Pennington’s injury and James Anderson’s retirement.

Sri Lanka are touring England for the first time since 2016, and will have former England batsman Ian Bell in their coaching team. The series starts at Old Trafford on August 21, before moving to London for games at Lord’s (August 29) and the Kia Oval (September 6).

England Men’s Test Squad:

Ben Stokes (Durham) Captain
Gus Atkinson (Surrey)
Shoaib Bashir (Somerset)
Harry Brook (Yorkshire)
Jordan Cox (Essex)
Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)
Dan Lawrence (Surrey)
Ollie Pope (Surrey)
Matthew Potts (Durham)
Joe Root (Yorkshire)
Jamie Smith (Surrey)
Olly Stone (Nottinghamshire)
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
Mark Wood (Durham)

Dan Lawrence in for Zak Crawley is reward for his patience and a like-for-like swap

England’s selection for their Test series against Sri Lanka remains in keeping with their strategy under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. They are prepared to reward patience, even if that means bashing a square peg (Dan Lawrence) into a round hole (opening the batting). And in selecting new players, they are prepared to look beyond the obvious in search of the attributes, flexibility and potential they think are required at Test level.

Had Zak Crawley and Dillon Pennington not picked up season-ending injuries, the squad for the second Test series of the summer would almost certainly have been identical to that of the first.

Replacing Crawley is a huge ask for Lawrence. A call-up for Keaton Jennings and Alex Lees, who have done the job before, would have been the easy, obvious call. But Lawrence’s strokeplay has more in common with Crawley than theirs, and should marry up nicely with Ben Duckett’s. In Sri Lanka, England are not facing the most fearsome new-ball bowling in the world game, either.

Lawrence has batted a little at No 3 for Surrey this season, but is more often seen lower down, when the reduced lateral movement enables his aggressive strokeplay, especially on the leg side. He has had to be extremely patient in search of an opportunity, carrying drinks across England’s two biggest series, against Australia and in India. They wanted to reward that, even though Stokes briefly opened the batting with flair against West Indies last week.

Cox has been on the radar since before he left Kent to replace Lawrence at Essex. That move has seen him placed in a stable position at No 4 and rise to the challenge with one of the best counties in the land. He is an adaptable cricketer; a wicketkeeper who is also a world-class fielder, who has batted up and down the order. In 2020, he made 238 not out opening the batting for Kent but is most at home as a dashing middle order bat.

Cox has never been afraid to ruffle feathers, including when leaving Kent last year in search of more opportunity with the gloves and the bat. Expect to see plenty of him in an England shirt, whether Test whites or white-ball pyjamas. He will play in this series only if there is an injury, but England will be keen to embed Cox in their group.

If England selected on stats alone, Stone would not have been called up. He has managed just seven wickets in five Championship matches for Nottinghamshire since returning from one of his many injuries this season. But he bowls fast, and is capable of sharp swing, a little like Gus Atkinson. If Atkinson or Mark Wood need a rest across the three matches, Stone will get a go. If Chris Woakes needs a break, it will be Matthew Potts. This England management prefer just one of their specialist seamers to be regularly operating below 85mph. Of the uncapped options, Sam Cook could come into contention in the Woakes category, while John Turner is probably next in the Wood/Atkinson camp.

It is worth noting that, through all his injuries, Stone has improved his batting. He has three Championship fifties, including a career-best 90, for Nottinghamshire this season. With the exception of the currently banned Brydon Carse, none of the new faces in England’s bowling attacks could bat above No 9. If Stone could fashion himself into a No 8, he would be extremely valuable in Australia, where Woakes is unlikely to play a huge role.