Matthew Potts and Harry Brook are the beneficiaries of the hamstring tear that has left Ben Stokes a frustrated onlooker for England’s series against Sri Lanka, with the former coming into the XI and the latter promoted to vice-captain.
Stokes was at Old Trafford on Monday as his side geared up for the first Test starting on Wednesday, the England captain no longer using the crutches he needed after his injury during the Hundred, but still unable to practise. As Stokes looked on, the question of how England will line up without him was answered.
Rather than hand Jordan Cox a debut at No 6 and hope a four-man attack can prise out 20 Sri Lankan wickets, England will bolster bowling options for the stand-in captain Ollie Pope. The wicketkeeper Jamie Smith moves to No 6, Chris Woakes will play as the all-rounder a spot lower, while Potts comes in to offer additional overs as part of a five-man bowling group.
It is a bold move by England, with Gus Atkinson at No 8 making it a relatively long tail. Potts, playing his first Test since the start of last summer, made a maiden first-class century for Durham at the start of the season but the chief source of runs will need to be those higher up.
They include Dan Lawrence, slated to open alongside Ben Duckett after Zak Crawley broke a finger on the final day of the 3-0 win against West Indies. The right-hander, who swapped Essex for Surrey last winter, is usually a middle-order player but has made a couple of half-centuries in seven first-class innings at the top.
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England team for first Test
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England (confirmed): Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook (vice-captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir.
“I’ll obviously face a few more brand new balls in the next couple of days,” Lawrence said. “But I’ll try to tick off the usual boxes in training, and then when I get out there, just try and be as calm as possible and just really enjoy the occasion.”
On Pope stepping up as captain, Lawrence said: “I think it’s obviously quite important for Ollie not to try and be Ben Stokes, because he’s obviously a very dominant character. I think it’s very good that he’s around this week because he’s obviously going to be overseeing things and helping out wherever he can.
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“Not having Stokes is obviously a big loss for the team, but it’s another great opportunity for Ollie to step up and get some practice as captain, and then for us younger players to go out there and put on a performance.”
With Stokes planning to be present for the whole series, and Brook notably made his deputy after captaining Northern Superchargers in the Hundred, Pope will not be short on tactical advice. Local knowledge in Manchester also comes from Jimmy Anderson, once again mentoring the bowlers after his Test retirement.
