Dan Lawrence recalled, Jordan Cox set for No. 3 spot in England Test Squad vs Pakistan

England Test Team (File Pic)

England have handed Dan Lawrence a Test recall after two years, while Jordan Cox has been slotted into the crucial No. 3 spot for the upcoming three-match home series against Pakistan, replacing the injured Jacob Bethell.

Lawrence earns his return to the national setup following a standout County Championship run with Surrey, where he accumulated 788 runs at an average of 65.66 while scoring a tournament-best five hundreds. The 29-year-old is expected to slot in at No. 6 and can also offer useful off-spin, helping offset the absence of an all-rounder following Ben Stokes' retirement from international cricket.

Cox, who batted at No. 7 on debut during the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval earlier this year, moves up to first drop. Although he has batted at No. 3 just once in first-class cricket, the wicketkeeper-batter has prior opening experience and is considered one of the country's premier young batting talents.

The squad also marks the return of Ollie Pope, who returns as a backup wicketkeeper-batter after being left out of last winter's Ashes series.

In the bowling department, fast bowler Brydon Carse has recovered from wrist and elbow problems to earn a recall, while seamer Sam Cook returns after earning his single Test cap against Zimbabwe last summer. Fast bowler Ollie Robinson, who grabbed seven wickets on his comeback in the opening Test against New Zealand at Lord's before missing the final two matches, has maintained his place in the squad.

The series begins at Headingley from August 19 to 23, followed by the second Test at Lord's from August 27 to 31. The three-match series will wrap up at Edgbaston from September 9 to 13.

Both team squads for the Test series:

England Squad (First Two Tests): Joe Root (captain), 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.

Pakistan Squad: Babar Azam (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Awais Zafar, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood, Ubaid Shah.