Shoulder injury rules Pope out of remainder of Ashes

England will have a new No.3 and a new vice-captain for the third Test at Headingley after Ollie Pope was ruled out for the remainder of the Ashes series due to a shoulder injury.

Reserve batter Dan Lawrence is the box seat to play in Leeds from Thursday after the dislocated right shoulder Pope suffered at Lord's was revealed to be serious enough to require surgery.

The team's vice-captain will spend the rest of the northern summer on the sidelines, but England have said they will not name a replacement in their Ashes squad for now.

"It's a big blow, Ollie's been phenomenal for us the last 18 months," Root said of his middle-order partner who battled through his injury to score 42 in England’s first innings at Lord’s.

"He's stepped up as vice-captain of this team. The more responsibility we've given him, the more we've gotten out of him as a player and as a leader within the group.

"He'll be a big miss for us, he's a hell of a player and he's a great mind to have in the group as well. Ben (Stokes) gains a huge amount from having him as vice-captain.

"It will be a big loss, he's been an integral part of this team and will be for many years to come."

Unless England re-jig the balance of their XI with an extra bowler, Lawrence appears certain to play though it remains to be seen whether he will slot into the first-drop slot vacated by Pope.

Former captain Root has batted there before but was coy when asked on Tuesday whether he might move up from the No.4 spot he prefers, saying: "It's not my call anymore, thankfully."

But Lawrence's 491 runs at 44.63 for Essex in Division One of the County Championship this season, including the 152 in his most recent match last month, have all come at No.4. He has also mainly batted either there or No.6 in his 11 previous Tests.

Root suggested England's attacking style means positions are less important than previously.

"As a batting group, the game is very different to what it was 18 months ago, and I think that's a very good thing as well," said the 32-year-old.

"That mindset shift allows you to welcome different situations, different scenarios and thrive in those positions and those moments. I'm sure whoever (bats at three) and gets that opportunity will relish it and make the most of it."

Lawrence fell nine runs short of a maiden Test century in Barbados on England's tour of the Caribbean last year but has not played under Stokes' captaincy.

"He's in a good mood, in good spirits, which is always good when you've got guys on the periphery and are next in line scoring runs and feeling good within their own game, that's a nice position to be in," said Root.

"You've seen a glimpse of what he can do in Test cricket, he scored a brilliant 99 (sic), he looked nailed on for a hundred in Barbados.

"I think he's got a very exciting career in front of him whenever an opportunity arises for him. He's got that steeliness about him that he wants to succeed at this level and he's got the game to go with it.

"He's an exciting prospect."

2023 Qantas Ashes Tour of the UK

First Test: Australia won by two wickets

Second Test: Australia won by 43 runs

Third Test: Thursday July 6-Monday July 10, Headingley

Fourth Test: Wednesday July 19-Sunday July 23, Old Trafford

Fifth Test: Thursday July 27-Monday 31, The Oval

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner

England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood