Seamer Matthew Potts will replace Ben Stokes in the first Test against Sri Lanka and Dan Lawrence will open the batting in place of Zak Crawley as England reshuffle their side due to injuries.
All-rounder Stokes will be out for the rest of the English summer after the 33-year-old sustained a thigh injury last week and batsman Ollie Pope took over the captaincy.
With no equivalent replacement, England have opted for Durham fast bowler Potts. The 25-year-old won the last of his six internationals against Ireland at Lord’s over a year ago and has 23 wickets at an average of 29.
This means that England have a long tail in front of them with Chris Woakes at number 7.
Crawley will also miss the series after breaking his finger and England have once again opted for something else.
Lawrence has not played for England since Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over as coach; the last of his 11 Tests came as part of the 2022 tour of the West Indies, but he has been in the squad many times, including for last year’s Ashes and the subsequent tour of India.
The 27-year-old, who averages 27 with the bat, has not yet played first in Test cricket but has done so occasionally in first-class matches and frequently in white-ball cricket, including in the Big Bash League for the Melbourne Stars last season.
“One of my greatest strengths is that I can adapt to any batting position pretty well,” Lawrence told BBC Sport.
“I’ve been up and down the order over the last few years. I haven’t been an opening act for a while, but I’m really looking forward to performing with Ben Duckett and hopefully putting on a show.”
Stokes was at England training on Monday and is expected to accompany the team throughout the series against Sri Lanka. However, Pope and coach McCullum spoke to the team.
Mid-order batsman Harry Brook, 25, has been named vice-captain for the three-match series that begins at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
England (v Sri Lanka): Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (weekend), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir.
