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Marcus North Backs England to Move Forward After Ben Stokes Retirement England selector Marcus North says the team cannot afford to dwell on the retirement of former captain Ben Stokes as preparations continue for the Test series against Pakistan. North announced a 16-player squad for the opening two Tests and confirmed that Dan Lawrence will bat at number six, effectively filling the middle-order position previously occupied by Stokes. Jordan Cox will take the number-three position for the first Test on August 19, with Jacob Bethell unavailable through injury. Ollie Pope and fast bowler Brydon Carse have also returned to the squad. The three-match series will begin a new period for England following Stokes’ retirement and Brendon McCullum’s dismissal as Test head coach. Their partnership began in 2022 and became associated with England’s aggressive “Bazball” approach. McCullum was removed from the red-ball role after England suffered a 2-1 series defeat by New Zealand, although he remains in charge of the white-ball teams. Joe Root has been appointed captain for a second spell, while Marcus Trescothick will serve as interim head coach. Stephen Fleming will formally take charge of the Test team ahead of the series against South Africa in December. North praised Stokes’ contribution to English cricket but stressed the importance of concentrating on the players available for the Pakistan series. Stokes has already ruled out reversing his decision to retire from 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." © Cricket World 2026