E‌NG vs SL | ‌Potts fill Stokes’ void as England name playing XI for Manchester Test

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BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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The England Cricket Board announced the playing XI for the first Test against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford with Ollie Pope as the captain. While Harry Brook is going to serve as his deputy, fast bowler Matt Potts have pipped Jordan Cox and Olly Stone to fill the void of regular captain Ben Stokes.

Surprisingly, England opted for a bowling-heavy line-up against Sri Lanka in the first Test in the absence of injured Ben Stokes. With Shoaib Bashir as the lone primary spinner. Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, and Potts fill up the pacers department. 

Potts snared 23 wickets in his six-match Test career at a healthy bowling average of 29.26. His improved batting, highlighted by a 149 against Warwickshire, secured him the No. 9 spot in the line-up. 

Yet another major amendment in the English squad is the presence of Dan Lawrence atop. In the absence of Zak Crawley (finger injury), he has been given the nod to open the batting with Ben Duckett. Despite being a regular member of the Three Lions Test squads, the batter played his last red-ball game against West Indies in March 2022.

"I did actually start my first-class career as an opener and then I've gradually kind of moved up and down as I've gone along. But I'm only really focusing on trying to really enjoy the week. It shouldn't be too much different from batting three or four,” said Lawrence after being selected for the first Test squad.

England will play their first Test against Sri Lanka on August 21 before the caravan shifts to Lord’s and the Oval for the second and the third red-ball game.

England Squad for First Test against Sri Lanka: Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope © Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir

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