England has selected a team of 14 players for their next three-game Test series against Sri Lanka. Zak Crawley, who usually opens the batting, won’t be playing because he broke his right little finger during the third Test against the West Indies. Also missing the series is fast bowler Dillon Pennington, who hurt his hamstring while playing for the Northern Superchargers in a competition called The Hundred.
Pennington was part of England’s team for their three-game series against the West Indies last month. The captain of England’s Test team, Ben Stokes, was impressed with the 25-year-old and said that Pennington would be “ready to play” if needed against Sri Lanka.
This season, Pennington has been one of the best fast bowlers in the County Championship. For Nottinghamshire, he took 31 wickets with an average of 23.80 in eight matches.
Because these two players were not available, Jordan Cox and Olly Stone were chosen to join the Test team.
Cox plays as a batter in the middle of the lineup for Essex. He was part of the England team that played limited-overs matches in Pakistan last year.
Cox has scored the most runs for Essex in this season’s County Championship, making 763 runs with an average of 69.36, including three centuries.
For Stone, this series against Sri Lanka is his first time back in the England team since 2021. The fast bowler from Nottinghamshire has played in three Tests and taken 10 wickets with an average of 19.4.
England squad: Ben Stokes (c), 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.
