Dan Lawrence leaves England squad due to family bereavement

Dan Lawrence has left the England bio-secure bubble due to a family bereavement, and will miss the chance to make his Test debut in Thursday's second Test against Pakistan at the Ageas Bowl.

Lawrence, 23, had been named as one of England's reserve batsmen for the Test leg of England's summer, and had been a possible inclusion for the second Test following Ben Stokes' departure from the squad due to his own family reasons.

Ollie Robinson, the fast bowler, was this week withdrawn from Sussex's Bob Willis Trophy fixture against Kent to bolster England's seam options ahead of the second Test. However, the management have chosen not to replace Lawrence in England's 18-man party.

That means that Zak Crawley is the likely beneficiary of Stokes' absence, having been omitted to include an extra seamer in the last two Tests. The uncapped James Bracey and Ben Foakes, both wicketkeeper-batsmen, are the other two batting options at England's disposal.

One of the heroes of England's victory on Saturday, Jos Buttler, produced his match-winning innings despite his father being taken into hospital during the match.

Speaking about the team environment before Lawrence's news was made public, James Anderson praised the efforts that the current management go to, in particular the captain Joe Root and head coach Chris Silverwood, to ensure the players' mental wellbeing is taken into account.

"I do think cricket is more empathetic now, yes," Anderson said. "It has definitely changed for the better. We quite often take this game very seriously - I have done this week - and it is quite a big deal for some people.

"But there is nothing more important than family. It is something that certainly Joe and Chris have brought in under their leadership: family comes first. And this group of players rally round each other and help if there is anything that needs help."