England start life after Bazball, name squad for first 2 Tests against Pakistan

England have named Joe Root's first squad for the opening two Tests against Pakistan, with Dan Lawrence recalled and Jordan Cox slotting in at No. 3. The selection marks a fresh start for England after the Bazball era under new leadership.Joe Root will be back as England's full-time Test captain (Reuters File Photo)England have started their life after Bazball by naming a 16-member squad for the first two Tests against Pakistan on Thursday, August 6. Joe Root will be captaining the side with batter Dan Lawrence being added to the Test squad for the first time in two years. The series will be part of the ongoing World Test Championship cycle.Root will be taking over as captain from Ben Stokes, who retired from international cricket following the end of the series against New Zealand. This also signalled the end of the tenure of Brendon McCullum as the Test team coach, with former CSK boss Stephen Fleming taking over.However, the former New Zealand captain won't be taking charge of his new side during the Pakistan series, with assistant coach Marcus Trescothick being at the helm.BETHELL OUT OF ENTIRE PAK SERIESEngland have suffered a big blow as Jacob Bethell has been ruled of the entirety of the series against Pakistan. Bethell sustained a right knee injury during the ODI series against India and will be replaced by Jordan Cox at No.3. Lawrence, the second-leading runscorer in Division One of the County Championship this season, will be batting at No.6. Ollie Pope and Brydon Carse return to the squad for the first time since the Ashes series loss to Australia.“Dan Lawrence returns following an exceptional season so far with Surrey and we believe he has the right level of experience, maturity and skill to complement our middle order," said England national selector Marcus North. “Jordan Cox is well regarded as one of the most exciting talents in English cricket and will have the opportunity to bat at three in place of Jacob Bethell, who sadly misses this series through injury.”The impressive Sam Cook is also included in the side after making his debut during the one-off Test against Zimbabwe last summer. The series will begin on August 19 in Headingley as Root will be leading the team for the first time since 2022 infront of his home crowd.ENGLAND SQUAD FOR FIRST 2 TESTS VS PAKISTANJoe 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- EndsPublished On: Aug 6, 2026 15:41 IST