England name squad for first two Tests against Pakistan, Joe Root to captain

England on Thursday named a 16-member squad for the first two Tests of their three-match ICC World Test Championship (WTC) series against Pakistan, with Joe Root set to captain the side.

The series marks England's first Test assignment since Ben Stokes retired from the format following the home series against New Zealand.

Middle-order batter Dan Lawrence has earned a recall to the Test squad for the first time in two years after an impressive County Championship campaign. Lawrence has scored 788 runs in 13 innings at an average of 65.66 this season. The 27-year-old has played 14 Tests for England, scoring 671 runs, including four half-centuries.

Jordan Cox has been included as a replacement for Jacob Bethell, who has been ruled out of the entire Pakistan series after sustaining a right knee injury during England's recent series against India.

England's squad for the first two Tests comprises 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 and Josh Tongue.