Who Could Make Way for Sam Curran’s Return in England’s Third Pakistan Test XI?

Dan Lawrence looks the most exposed name if Sam Curran is fit for England’s third Test against Pakistan at Edgbaston. Selector Marcus North has confirmed Curran’s return would force a choice between dropping Lawrence at No. 6 or pushing Jamie Smith down to No. 8. Curran missed the first two Tests purely on fitness grounds after a groin injury limited his bowling all year, not through any selection call. His medical team is managing him carefully with September 9 as the target return date.

North’s Fitness-First Selection Explanation

England’s selector Marcus North was direct about Curran’s absence from the opening two fixtures, calling it a fitness call rather than a form-related decision. He described putting Curran into those matches as unfair on a player still working back to full bowling loads. North added that the coming weeks would focus on managing that build-up carefully.

North also framed Curran’s importance in broader terms following Ben Stokes’ retirement from red-ball cricket. He said the balance Stokes once provided is now missing from the side, and called Curran a player of real interest heading into the back half of this home series against Pakistan.

Sam Curran Pakistan Test comeback

If fully fit, North indicated the returning allrounder would slot straight into the squad, creating a direct call between two shapes for the side. England could either play him at No. 6 or No. 7 for extra balance, or stick with six specialist batters alongside Jamie Smith behind the stumps.

North had previously suggested Curran would have been in line to play ahead of Lawrence had he been available for the series opener. That framing makes Edgbaston the earliest realistic point for a fully fit Test return since his last appearance back in August 2021, more than five years after his debut against Pakistan at Headingley as a teenager.

England’s Squad Balance For The Opener

The 16-player squad announced on August 6 leans on Jordan Cox at three in place of the injured Jacob Bethell, who is out for the entire series with a right knee problem picked up during the Metro Bank ODI series against India. Lawrence returns at six after two years out of the side, coming in as the second-leading run-scorer in this year’s County Championship Division One with 788 runs.

Jamie Smith drops to seven to accommodate him, while Shoaib Bashir keeps the spinner’s role for now, albeit with his spot under scrutiny once Lawrence’s off-breaks are folded into the attack. North confirmed a four-man pace group remains the likely template for the first two Tests under new captain Joe Root, with Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Matthew Fisher among the seam options in a sixteen-man group that also includes Sam Cook, Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue.

Recent Form Since Returning From Injury

Curran returned to competitive cricket as a specialist batter for Surrey’s T20 Blast campaign on May 22, top-scoring for his county with 141 runs across his first three innings back, while also captaining the side through that stretch. He resumed bowling fitness work in June, though as of early July he had sent down only 13 competitive overs since the injury first flared.

Since then his workload has grown steadily. He bowled his full ten-over allocation in both ODIs during England’s white-ball series against India, missing only a single Hundred fixture through a minor niggle while captaining MI London. He has not played first-class cricket since that same fitness setback began, meaning white-ball cricket alone has filled his diary heading into September.

Ollie Pope And The Wider Squad Picture

Ollie Pope’s own recall adds another selection wrinkle, marking his first involvement since last winter’s Ashes tour of Australia. He scored 510 runs at an average of 56.66 in county cricket over the summer, form strong enough to earn a squad recall even without a guaranteed XI return.

Curran’s Test career itself dates back to a debut at 19 years old in 2018, also against Pakistan, and spans 24 caps without an appearance since 2021. Whether that gap ends at Edgbaston now rests on how his bowling workload holds up in the coming weeks, with a genuine Sam Curran Pakistan Test comeback still needing final medical sign-off before any XI is picked.