As announced earlier, England wicketkeeper-batter Ollie Pope will lead the home side with skipper Stokes ruled out of the series due to injury, while Harry Brook has been named the vice captain of the side. The first Test match will be starting from Wednesday (August 21) and will go on till Sunday (August 25). England Cricket Board (ECB) on Monday (August 19) stated that Potts and Lawrence have been included in the playing after the injury of Stokes and Crawley. "England Men have announced their XI for the first Rothesay Men's Test match against Sri Lanka, starting at Emirates Old Trafford starting on Wednesday, 21 August. "With Ben Stokes (hamstring) and Zak Crawley (finger) both missing through injury, Durham seamer Matthew Potts returns to the side for the first time since June 2023. Surrey batter Dan Lawrence will open the batting in Crawley's absence," ECB stated. A tear in his left hamstring, sustained during The Hundred, has ruled Stokes out for the remainder of the English summer. Consequently, he will miss the two-match series against Sri Lanka. Crawley had hurt his finger when fielding during the West Indies series. The statement also confirmed that Harry Brook has been named as the vice-captain for the three-match series with the rest of the playing 11 being similar to the one that face West Indies last month. "Yorkshire middle-order batter Harry Brook has been named vice-captan for the three-match series and will support captain Ollie Pope," the ECB statement added. Lawrence will open the batting alongside Ben Duckett, while Pope, Joe Root and Brook make up for the top five, while Jamie Smith, who made his debut earlier this year, will continue to don the wicketkeeping responsibilities. Shoaib Bashir will be the lone specialist spinner as Potts joins Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood to form a four-man pace-bowling attack for England in the series opener. England recorded a 3-0 series sweep against the Windies to move up to 6th place in the World Test Championship standings and will be keen to keep that momentum going against Sri Lanka, as per the ICC. The second match of the series will be played at Lord's, starting from August 29. Meanwhile, the final Test match of the series will take place at Kennington Oval on September 6. Here is a look at England's XI for first Test against Sri Lanka: England Playing 11 for 1st Test vs Sri Lanka Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook (vice captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir.