Matthew Potts back for Old Trafford Test; Harry Brook is vice-captain

The first Test between England and Sri Lanka is set to begin on August 21 at Old Trafford. England have announced their playing XI a day prior to the match. Matthew Potts returns to the squad, and Harry Brook has been named vice-captain.

With Ben Stokes absent due to a hamstring injury and Zak Crawley sidelined with a finger injury, Ollie Pope will captain the team. Harry Brook has been appointed as the vice-captain for the three-match series.

Pace bowler Matthew Potts returns to the England squad for the first time since June 2023. Potts has played 6 Tests for England so far, taking a total of 23 wickets. He is the replacement for Stokes and is known for his debut performance where he claimed 7 wickets.

Dan Lawrence from Surrey will open the batting in Crawley's absence. Despite being in the squad, Ollie Stone and uncapped batter Jordan Cox did not make the final XI.

England: 1 Dan Lawrence, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope (capt), 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jamie Smith (wk),7 Chris Woakes, 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Matthew Potts, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Shoaib Bashir