England pick rookie pacer Josh Hull as they target Sri Lanka Test series sweep

Tall left-arm quick made his first-class debut last year and has been given the nod despite modest stats

Left-arm pacer Josh Hull is set to make his England Test debut in the third Test against Sri Lanka. Getty Images

England have selected 20-year-old left-arm pacer Josh Hull for their final home Test of the season against Sri Lanka as they chase a sixth straight win.

Hull made his first-class debut just last year and has picked up 16 wickets in 10 matches for Leicestershire in Division Two of the County Championship.

However, the 6'7" tall pacer has impressed with his pace and ability to move the ball. He has thus been rewarded with a Test debut, replacing Matthew Potts for the third Test at The Oval starting on Friday. England are eyeing another 3-0 series sweep after achieving the same feat against the West Indies in July.

This season, however, Hull's numbers have not been impressive, taking just two wickets in the championship at an average of 182.50. But England believe they have spotted something in him worth backing.

England have made it a habit of picking young players since head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes took over. Spinners Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir, among others, were thrown straight into the deep end.

Ollie Pope said he is looking forward to see what Hull has to offer. “He's obviously got a massive ceiling,” said the stand-in captain. “He's pretty massive himself as well, which is handy as a bowler.

“When you're 6ft 7in and you can get it down, pushing up to the 85-90mph mark with a bit of swing and the left-arm angle, there's a lot to like. It's a great week for him to come in, learn a little bit and show off exactly what he can do.”

England have made it clear that Hull's modest statistics will not be held against him. The team see a player with the right ingredients to succeed at the highest level.

“We've played four right-arm seamers for the first two games so it's just something different for the opposition batters to think about,” said Pope. “It's a point of difference and he's got some good pace when he's clicking in the nets.

“The numbers sometimes speak for themselves but there's obviously a bigger picture with some of the guys. There's a little bit more to the numbers and I think it's credit to the way the guys have gone about it, the boldness from Brendon and Ben to get these guys in the squad at such a young age.”

Meanwhile, England white-ball captain Jos Buttler has been ruled out of the T20 series against Australia because of a right calf injury and could also miss the ODI series between the teams.

Buttler has been replaced in the T20 squad by Jamie Overton, while Phil Salt will take over as captain having also deputised for Buttler in the role for the Manchester Originals in the recent Hundred tournament.

Buttler has been out since July because of the injury and England said in a statement he has had a “setback” in his recovery.

The three-match T20 series with Australia begins next Wednesday. The five-match ODI series starts on September 19, so Buttler has time to recover. Batsman Jordan Cox has been added to the ODI squad as cover in case Buttler does not make it.