England call up uncapped batter to replace injured Crawley for Sri Lanka series
England have called up uncapped Essex batter Jordan Cox after losing injured opener Zak Crawley for the upcoming Test series with Sri Lanka.
Crawley has been ruled out of the three-match series, which is due to begin on August 21, after he fractured the little finger on his right hand during the third Test victory over the West Indies at Trent Bridge.
The 26-year-old Kent batter has cemented his name at the top of the order alongside Ben Duckett but will now switch his attention to being fit for the away Pakistan series in October.
Dan Lawrence, who has not played a Test since 2022, will open in Crawley’s place. The 27-year-old moved from Essex to Surrey over the winter and has made an impressive start to the County Championship season, averaging 53.09 at a strike rate of 74.68 with two centuries and three fifties.
England made a number of changes to their side ahead of the West Indies series, handing Test debuts to Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith, and there is now a maiden call-up for middle-order batter Cox.
The 23-year-old right-hander, who has been in excellent form since moving to Essex from Kent this year, has been involved in the England set-up previously after joining the white-ball tour of Pakistan in the autumn of 2022.
Uuncapped seamer Dillon Pennington, who was in the squad for the 3-0 series win over the West Indies but did not feature, joins Crawley on the sidelines after sustaining a hamstring injury while playing in The Hundred.
Nottinghamshire seamer Olly Stone returns to the Test squad for the first time since June 2021 and will be hoping to add to his three Test caps.
England squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka
- Ben Stokes (captain)
- Gus Atkinson
- Shoaib Bashir
- Harry Brook
- Jordan Cox
- Ben Duckett
- Dan Lawrence
- Ollie Pope
- Matthew Potts
- Joe Root
- Jamie Smith
- Olly Stone
- Chris Woakes
- Mark Wood