The Albany Gazette - England selector North not 'hung up' on Stokes absence

North, announcing a 16-man squad for the first two Tests against Pakistan on Thursday, confirmed Surrey's Dan Lawrence would bat at number six, effectively replacing all-rounder Stokes in the middle order.

Jordan Cox will bat at three in the first Test on August 19 in the absence of the injured Jacob Bethell.

Former vice-captain Ollie Pope and paceman Brydon Carse have also been recalled to the squad.

The three-match series comes just weeks after the retirement of Stokes and the sacking of head coach Brendon McCullum, who teamed up in 2022, launching an ultra-attacking brand of cricket.

McCullum was fired from the Test role last month following England's 2-1 series defeat by New Zealand but remains the white-ball boss.

Joe Root will captain the side after being reappointed to the role, with Marcus Trescothick serving as interim head coach.

McCullum's replacement, fellow New Zealander Stephen Fleming, will start his tenure as head coach against South Africa in December.

North, previously director of cricket at county side Durham, where Stokes plays, praised the former skipper, who this week ruled out any chance that he would rethink his decision to quit international cricket.

"We've been very fortunate to have someone like Ben as a world-class all-rounder in our set-up," said the Australian.

"I think it would be very easy to get hung up on the fact that we've lost Ben. He's made that decision to retire, and like I said, it gives us an opportunity to look at some different structures."

- Best batters -

North said in-form Lawrence, who has not played Test cricket for two years, would be part of a powerful middle order including Harry Brook and Jamie Smith.

"We feel he's an advanced, better player than he was when he last played for England," he said.

"We feel that going into these first two Test matches with our six best batters available shows some conviction and strength around the way we want to play and to score heavily."

North played 21 Tests for Australia but now finds himself working for their arch-rivals ahead of next year's Ashes series in England.

But he insisted he had long been "incredibly invested" in English cricket.

"I've lived here for 12 years now with my family and I've worked as director of cricket at Durham for nearly eight years," said North.

"And being part of that professionally, for me to see England do well has absolutely always been kind of at the forefront of my mind."

North played down the lack of English coaches in the national set-up, saying Fleming was passionate about developing both players and coaches.

And he said the former New Zealand captain had been consulted about the squad for the Pakistan series even though he is yet to begin his England role.

England, who have lost seven of their past nine Tests, are looking to climb from fifth in the rankings.

"Certainly, he (Fleming) is looking at having depth within our Test squad that is enabled to sustain success," said North.

"Our ambition is very clear -- that there's a process and a journey to go on, but our focus is being the best Test team in the world. There's no question about that."

(D.Sanchez--TAG)