Dan Lawrence to Open for Injured Zak Crawley in Test Against Sri Lanka

England's Dan Lawrence will replace injured Zak Crawley as the opener in the first test against Sri Lanka, with seamer Matthew Potts stepping in for Ben Stokes. Ollie Pope takes over as captain while Harry Brook has been named vice-captain for the series.

England's Dan Lawrence will open the batting in place of the injured Zak Crawley for the first test against Sri Lanka, as announced by the England and Wales Cricket Board on Monday. Seamer Matthew Potts will replace Ben Stokes, who has been ruled out for the remainder of the English summer.

Ben Stokes, the all-rounder, suffered a hamstring injury last week, paving the way for Ollie Pope to take over the captaincy. Vice-captain duties have been assigned to middle-order batter Harry Brook for the three-match series set to commence at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

The full England team lineup includes Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook (vice-captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, and Shoaib Bashir. Zak Crawley will miss the series due to a fractured finger.

(With inputs from agencies.)