Former England captain Nasser Hussain has spoken about the Ben Stokes-led team for the upcoming three-match Test series against Sri Lanka at home. Nasser Hussain also shared his thoughts on middle-order batsman Dan Lawrence replacing Zak Crawley as the opener for the red-ball series against Sri Lanka.

England have announced a 14-member squad for the series against Sri Lanka. Zak Crawley and Dillon Pennington have been ruled out of the upcoming home series. Crawley fractured his right little finger during the third Test against the West Indies. Pennington has suffered a hamstring injury due to the ongoing 2024 The Hundred.

Jordan Cox has received his first call-up to the national team following his impressive performances in the County Championship. The first match will be played at the Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester from 21 August. England will play the second match at Lord’s in London from 29 August to 2 September.

It’s a stuntman’s role – Nasser Hussain

Speaking to Sky Sports, Nasser Hussain said that the opener’s position is a specialised one. Hussain mentioned that Ben Duckett has been successful as an opener despite playing attacking cricket against a moving ball. He highlighted the England team management’s preference for attacking players.

“Well, you might think it’s a specialised position, but you never know with this management structure. They’re not so much concerned about the position, they’re concerned about the type of cricketer, and Dan Lawrence fits that type of cricketer perfectly,” Hussain said.

“Ben Duckett has obviously done something for Notts. Can someone who doesn’t leave outside stump as a left-hander, in a Test cricket match in England against the Dukes ball, be successful in England? And he has. So they see the Dan Lawrence type of player as the type we want, and you see it all over the team that they’ve promoted someone to open who is an attacking player,” he added.

They have brought Jordan Cox – Nasser Hussain

Nasser Hussain highlighted that Jordan Cox was surprised by his inclusion in the Test squad. The cricketer-turned-commentator, while speaking about Olly Stone, pointed out that England prefers fast-paced bowlers over medium-paced bowlers. He added that the team selection is based on brand and style rather than just role and individual names.

“They’ve signed Jordan Cox, who just yesterday said: ‘I thought he was close to the white-ball side, not so much the Test side’, and Olly Stone again fits the bill. They don’t want a medium-sized Doberman; they want someone with pace, and that’s exactly what they’ve got with Stone. So it’s the brand and the style rather than just the role and the individual names.”

England’s pace attack includes Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Olly Stone, Matthew Potts and Gus Atkinson, who was the Player of the Series against the West Indies. Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir will be the specialist bowler in the team. Ben Duckett will have a new opening partner in England’s next Test match.

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