England axe Malan for second Test

England have axed Dawid Malan for the second Test against India at Lord’s as part of two changes.  

Malan made 8 and 20 and in England’s thrilling first-Test win at Edgbaston, and since the Perth Ashes Test last December where he made his maiden Test century, the left-hander has averaged just 19 in 12 innings.

Malan also dropped several crucial catches in the slip cordon at Birmingham but held onto an edge from Dinesh Karthik in the first over of the fourth morning to start England's push for victory. 

Replacing the left-hander is Surrey middle-order batsman Ollie Pope, while Chris Woakes returns to the Test squad for allrounder Ben Stokes, who is unavailable due to a court appearance in Bristol where he’ll be tried for affray.

"Ollie Pope has made an exceptional start to his first class career," said national selector Ed Smith.

"He has reached a 1000 first class runs in just 15 matches and is the first division’s stand-out batsman this season with 684 runs at 85.

"The selection panel believe that Ollie’s performances and character suggest he is well suited to international cricket.

"Dawid Malan drops out of the squad for Lord’s.

"Dawid has not found his best rhythm this season, and it may be that his game is better suited to overseas conditions.

"Ben Stokes is unavailable, but Chris Woakes, with some extra matches and practices under his belt, can now return to the England squad after injury."

England Test squad for Lord's

Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, Jamie Porter, Adil Rashid, Chris Woakes