Crawley sidelined with fractured finger; Lawrence to step in as opener for SL Tests

Due to Zak Crawley's fractured finger, Dan Lawrence will be leading England's batting lineup in the upcoming three-match Test series against Sri Lanka. In light of this, Jordan Cox, who has yet to make his international debut in any format, has been included in the squad as a backup batter. Additionally, Olly Stone has been named as a replacement for the injured Dillon Pennington, who suffered a hamstring injury while playing in the Hundred tournament.

Crawley injured the little finger on his right hand during England's ten-wicket win against West Indies at Edgbaston last week, when dropping a catch in the slips. It has since been confirmed as a fracture, ruling him out of the Hundred and the Sri Lanka series. He is aiming to return in time for England's Test tour to Pakistan in October.

Ben Stokes deputised as Ben Duckett's opening partner at Edgbaston, hitting a record-breaking 24-ball half-century, but Lawrence will take up the role against Sri Lanka. He has batted in every position from No. 3-7 during his 11 Tests but is not a specialist opener, having filled the role seven times in his first-class career - including twice as a pinch-hitter.

August 21-25 - 1st Test, Manchester
August 29-September 2 - 2nd Test, Lord's
September 6-10 - 3rd Test, The Oval

Lawrence has been England's spare batter for the past year but has not played a Test since Joe Root's final series as captain against West Indies in early 2022. England's decision to promote a middle-order batter rather than drafting in a specialist opener further emphasises their interest in players' attributes, rather than their outcomes at the county level.

Cox, 23, will start the series as England's spare batter. His call-up comes on the back of an excellent season, his first since joining Essex from his boyhood club Kent. He has hit three Championship hundreds for Essex, making 763 runs at 69.36, and has just returned to competitive cricket with Oval Invincibles after surgery on his appendix. He is likely to be their back-up wicketkeeper on the Pakistan tour.

Cox was out for a walk in Battersea Park with his girlfriend when he learned of his call-up, initially missing Brendon McCullum's call. "I got a text saying, 'Give me a call back, it's Baz,'" he told . "I quickly called back - pretty fast, just in case he asked someone else to join the squad… My profile picture on WhatsApp is me putting, and he basically asked, 'Did you sink that putt?'"

He admitted that he "hadn't even thought" about the prospect of a Test call-up, having previously been part of a T20I squad two years ago. "I've been thinking more about the white-ball side of it," Cox said. "I just thought there are so many good players out there, and I thought, I'm not going to be in that yet, if ever, so to get this call was pretty awesome."

Dillon Pennington took 31 wickets at 23.80 in eight County Championship appearances this season

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ESPNcricinfo revealed on Sunday morning that Pennington was a major doubt for the series after injuring his hamstring on Northern Superchargers debut on Friday night. Stokes suggested before the Edgbaston Test that Pennington would be "ready to go" against Sri Lanka if selected, but he is now expected to miss the rest of the English summer. Superchargers have kept Pat Brown as cover.

Stone, whose last Test came against New Zealand in June 2021, has been plagued by injuries in the past three years but returns to the squad in Pennington's place. He has only taken ten Championship wickets at 47.00 this season, but bowls with genuine pace and has ten wickets at 19.40 in his three-match Test career to date.

Sam Cook, the outstanding bowler in the Championship in recent years, has been overlooked following his return from a hamstring injury, while Matthew Potts will remain with the squad after running the drinks during the West Indies series. The first Test starts on August 21 at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester.

England Test squad vs Sri Lanka

Ben Stokes (capt), Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Matthew Potts, Olly Stone