England have put their faith in a five-man bowling attack for the first Test against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford this week, handing Matthew Potts a recall and asking Chris Woakes to play as a designated all-rounder in the absence of Ben Stokes.
Stokes was present at training on Monday but, while the crutches required after he tore his hamstring during the Hundred were no longer on show, the 33-year-old will still be supporting Ollie Pope – plus a new vice-captain in Harry Brook – from the sidelines for the three-match series that gets under way on Wednesday.
The question of who will open after Zak Crawley broke his finger has been known for some time – Dan Lawrence steps into what is an unfamiliar role – but the balance that Stokes brings to the XI as a genuine all-rounder is not so easily overcome. As well as his offering respite to the quicks and shielding a rookie spinner such as Shoaib Bashir in the first innings, England have lost his wicket-taking threat as a swing bowler.
One option was to hand a debut to Jordan Cox at No 6 and hope a four-man attack could still prise out 20 wickets. Instead, Stokes and Brendon McCullum, the head coach, have opted to bolster Pope’s bowling options, handing Potts a first cap since the start of last summer and backing Woakes to perform a dual role with bat and ball. After a vital 62 against West Indies at Edgbaston in his last outing, Woakes is in form.
Without Stokes in the XI, Woakes averages 32 with the bat compared with 27 overall – a jump bolstered by a Test century at No 7 against India in 2018 – while a bowling average of 25 is also three runs lower. Little wonder England wrapped the 35-year-old in cotton wool after Stokes’s injury, withdrawing him from the Hundred, not simply because he finished the 3-0 win against West Indies with a sore quad.
Overall, it represents another bold selection from England, not least given Lawrence’s role at the top of the order. The right-hander has been carrying the drinks for the past 17 England Tests and thought his wrong-footed whirlygig off-breaks might be his best route into the side. Instead, this first cap since the last throes of Joe Root’s captaincy in early 2022 is a case of taking on the new ball alongside Ben Duckett.
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