Jacob Bethell to miss England's Test series against Pakistan as Ollie Pope and Brydon Carse recalled for first time since Ashes

Jacob Bethell will miss the entirety of England's upcoming Test series against Pakistan, while Ollie Pope and Brydon Carse have been named in the 16-man squad.

England are preparing to return to action following their series defeat to New Zealand and the departures of head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.

Joe Root, reinstalled as skipper following Stokes' international retirement, will lead a team seeking to turn the page on a difficult spell on and off the field.

England's new head coach Stephen Fleming will not take charge until after the three-match series, which begins at Headingley on August 19, live on Sky Sports Cricket.

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Bethell sustained a knee injury during England's ODI series against India in July, causing him to miss The Hundred.

He will remain sidelined for the Pakistan series, with Essex wicketkeeper Jordan Cox replacing him at No 3, having made his Test debut earlier this summer.

Pope, formerly vice-captain under Stokes, and Carse return to the Test squad for the first time since England's dismal Ashes tour of Australia last winter.

Surrey wicketkeeper-batter Pope was dropped following England's third Ashes Test against Australia after he averaged 20.83 runs across three Tests.

Carse returns after he was forced to withdraw from this year's IPL after sustaining a hand injury.

England men's national selector Marcus North explained Harry Brook was also due to stay as Root's vice-captain and hailed his leadership qualities as "incredibly important".

North added England had identified Sam Curran as a player who could fill the gap left by Ben Stokes, and that he would have been selected for the squad had he been fit to play.

Dan Lawrence has also been recalled to the side two years after his last Test appearance and is expected to bat at No 6.

"Lawrence returns following an exceptional season so far with Surrey and we believe he has the right level of experience, maturity and skill to complement our middle order," North said.

On the inclusion of Cox, North added that it was a "massive opportunity" for the Essex wicketkeeper-batter.

"This is a guy that's put in consistent performances at domestic level. In his first one or two seasons at Kent, he was opening the batting in the County Championship," he said.

"We wouldn't be putting this guy at three if we didn't feel he was capable of fulfilling that role. He's got plenty of character about him. He's a huge competitor, and is quietly confident. We're looking at it with quite an excitement of how Jordan takes on that opportunity."

Fleming played key role in squad selection

North confirmed that incumbent head coach England coach Fleming was heavily involved in the discussions as selectors attempted to ensure their philosophies were aligned moving into the future.

"As far as the dynamics of selection, it stayed consistent in terms of our system and process that we go through in terms of the wider people that influence that; Troy Cooley, David Court, Ed Barney, myself, Keesy [Rob Key], the captain, the coach," North said.

"So, there's lots of information that gets provided as part of the process. None of that's changed.

"Stephen Fleming was involved. From the moment he was appointed, he was someone that I rang and had very lengthy conversations with.

"We've got to make sure that our selection and our philosophies and thoughts around that are absolutely aligned with Stephen's. It would make no sense for us to move forward through this series and have that be contradicted to where Stephen sees us as a team moving forward."

McCullum: Fleming is a little bit like me, but better!

Speaking on commentary for Sky Sports' The Hundred, England T20 and ODI head coach McCullum was asked whether it was odd not being involved in a Test squad announcement.

"I've got a bit more time on the hands," he joked. "I had a great time those four years and now it's heading in a different direction. Stephen Fleming will be excellent. He's a little bit like me, but better. He will do an amazing job.

"The ECB has done incredibly well to get someone who has options all around the world. To get him to commit to English cricket for the period that he has is an outstanding achievement.

"Me and Flem talk every day. We're close mates and we've done a lot together. He's one of those guys that I trust completely and we have good robust conversations. At the end we just want what's right for English cricket. We want to set this up so that English cricket is successful across all three forms of the game and that is going to take some time."

England squad to face Pakistan

Joe Root (Yorkshire - captain)

Jofra Archer (Sussex)

Gus Atkinson (Surrey)

Shoaib Bashir (Derbyshire)

Harry Brook (Yorkshire)

Brydon Carse (Durham)

Sam Cook (Essex)

Jordan Cox (Essex)

Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)

Matthew Fisher (Surrey)

Emilio Gay (Durham)

Dan Lawrence (Surrey)

Ollie Pope (Surrey)

Ollie Robinson (Sussex)

Jamie Smith (Surrey)

Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire)

England vs Pakistan (Test cricket) - August and September

• First Test (Wednesday August 19-Sunday August 23) - Headingley, Leeds (11am)
• Second Test (Thursday August 27-Monday August 31) - Lord's, London (11am)
• Third Test (Wednesday September 9-Sunday September 13) - Edgbaston, Birmingham (11am)

Watch the three-Test series between England and Pakistan live on Sky Sports Cricket from August 19. Stream cricket and more sport contract-free with NOW.

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Jacob Bethell to miss England's Test series against Pakistan as Ollie Pope and Brydon Carse recalled for first time since Ashes