IND vs ENG 2021: Dan Lawrence to return; Hosts hopeful of Woakes and Wood's availability - Reports

Dan Lawrence will reportedly return to the English squad for the fourth Test of the series against Team India. The 24-year-old batter was earlier released from the squad to play for Essex in the County Championship game against Glamorgan.

According to the Daily Mail, Jos Buttler could miss the final two Test matches of the series against India due to personal reasons.

In his absence, Jonny Bairstow could take up wicket-keeping responsibilities, while Dan Lawrence is in line to be picked ahead of Ollie Pope.

"It is understood England are lining up Jonny Bairstow to keep wicket for the fourth Test starting at The Oval on Thursday, with Dan Lawrence, who has been released to play the first two days of Essex’s County Championship game at Glamorgan, set to come in ahead of Ollie Pope," the report stated.

England fear Jos Buttler could miss out on the remaining Test matches this year with wicketkeeper's second child due imminently and doubts over his availability for The Ashes as Joe Root remains tight-lipped on plansvia https://t.co/tRYG0Ad0eK https://t.co/lnnWGAIT2U

— Al-haji Ismail (@Alfaenshe) August 29, 2021

The report further claims that the home side are hopeful that their injured fast bowlers Chris Woakes (heel) and Mark Wood (shoulder) will be available to play in the fourth Test.

While Wood was part of the English team that played against India at Lord's, Woakes has not played a single Test match since August last year.

Can Dan Lawrence cement his place in the England Test team?

Dan Lawrence scored 25 runs in two innings of the Nottingham Test match against India

Dan Lawrence was dropped from the England team after managing only 25 runs in two innings of the series opener against India. The right-handed batter got out for a duck in the first innings and played a knock of 25 runs in the second innings.

Lawrence could soon receive another chance to prove himself. It will be interesting to see how the English batter performs if he gets a place in the playing XI for the Kennington Oval Test, starting September 2.

#ENGvIND News🔻➡️ Woakes & Wood likely to be available for 4th test.➡️ England are trying to fit Dan Lawrence in place of Buttler for 4th test as Buttler might not be available.#BCCI #INDvENG #ENGvsIND pic.twitter.com/34M7uFgLNI

— The Cricket Alert (@TheCricketAlert) August 29, 2021