Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes in England Test squad for Sri Lanka series

Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes have both been rested but will return for February's tour of India. Rory Burns, whose wife is expecting the couple’'s first child during the second week of January, also remains at home

Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Ben Foakes and Dan Lawrence have all been included in England’s 16-man squad for their upcoming Test series in Sri Lanka.

Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes have both been rested but will return for February’s tour of India. Rory Burns, whose wife is expecting the couple’s first child during the second week of January, also remains at home.

Ollie Pope, who dislocated his left shoulder during England’s third Test against Pakistan in August, will travel with the team, spending his tour netting and working with England’s medical team ahead of the India series.

Moeen, who has not played Test cricket since the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston in 2019, is one of six spinners included in the touring party, which features seven travelling reserves.

Current incumbent Dom Bess and former Somerset teammate Jack Leach are also named in the main squad, with Mason Crane, Matt Parkinson and Amar Virdi all on a reserve list, which includes Gloucestershire batsman James Bracey and seamers Ollie Robinson, Saqib Mahmood and Craig Overton.

Foakes played the most recent of his five Test matches against West Indies in February 2019, but the wicketkeeper was named man of the series when England whitewashed Sri Lanka on their last tour to the country in 2018; he struck a century in his first Test innings at Galle, where both Tests on this upcoming tour will take place.

^{Ben Foakes hit a century on his Test debut in Sri Lanka in 2018}

Likewise, Bairstow fared well on his last visit, making a hundred while batting at No.3 in the same series win. His overall average against Sri Lanka stands at 102.4, including three centuries in four games. With Stokes, Burns and Pope all missing from England’s summer top six, the door is open for Bairstow, Foakes and Lawrence to push for inclusion.

Burns’ absence means that England arrive with just a single specialist opener – in Dom Sibley. Utilising Bairstow in Burns’ place is one left-field option available to Joe Root and Chris Silverwood, though Zak Crawley seems a likely option, even if he cemented his place at No.3 by making 267 against Pakistan. He replaced Burns at the top of the order when the Surrey batsman injured ankle ligaments in South Africa.

The touring party is due to depart on January 2, with the two Tests in Galle beginning on January 14 and January 22.

Squad: Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Reserves: James Bracey, Mason Crane, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Amar Virdi

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