Huge blow for England as Jacob Bethell gets ruled out of Pakistan series

England have suffered a major setback as their No. three batter Jacob Bethell has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match Test series against Pakistan at home and was therefore left out of the 16-member squad announced on August 6. His absence has emerged as an opportunity for Jordan Cox to bat at three in the series.

Spin-bowling allrounder Dan Lawrence has been rewarded for his impressive outing for Surrey in the County Championship. Lawrence has earned a recall after two years and is slated to slot in at No. 6 to fill the void created by Ben Stokes' retirement.

Lawrence has aggregated 788 runs in Division One of the County Championship this season at an average of 65.66 with the help of five tons. 

"We have selected a squad for the first two Tests that balances rising talent with the experience needed against a quality Pakistan team," said Marcus North, England's national selector.

"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.

"Jordan Cox is well regarded as one of the most exciting talents in English cricket and will have the opportunity to bat at [No.] 3 in place of Jacob Bethell, who sadly misses this series through injury."

North, alongside newly-appointed head coach Stephen Fleming and England's batting coach Marcus Trescothick, has also recalled Ollie Pope, who was dropped out of the playing XI midway through the last Ashes down under. 

Brydon Carse, who was England's leading wicket-taker in that marquee series, has also been added to the squad. Carse claimed 22 wickets in five games, averaging 30.31, including two four-fors. Medium pacers Sam Cook and Ollie Robinson have also found a place on the team.

England squad:

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.

Pakistan's tour of England 2026