In the latest cricket news, England have today announced an 18-strong group for the Royal London Series against Pakistan.

The announcement follows the news that 3 members of the initial playing squad and 4 members of the management staff had tested positive for COVID-19, and as per the consequence, the entire squad initially selected was required to observe isolation.

Ben Stokes will return to the England squad to lead the team and Chris Silverwood, who had been due to take some time away during the limited over series, is back as Head Coach. Overall, there are nine uncapped players in the squad.

England Team –

Ben Stokes (captain), Jake Ball, Danny Briggs, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Lewis Gregory, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, Dan Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Matt Parkinson, David Payne, Phil Salt, John Simpson, James Vince.

Managing Director of England Men's Cricket, Ashley Giles, said: "It's a great opportunity to play on the biggest stage, and for most of the players selected it's not necessarily something they would have been expecting 24 hours ago.

"It's an exciting group of players, with some young talent and some players who have impressed at domestic level over a long period of time.

"We're in unprecedented territory, in terms of replacing an entire squad and management team, and I'm very proud of how everyone has come together in order to get it done – both those within the ECB and from the county game.

"Ben hasn't captained our ODI side before so it's a huge honour for him. We all wish him well and it's a role I'm sure he'll thrive in.

"I'd like to also put on record the thanks of the ECB to the PCB for their support and understanding during this time."