LONDON: England has dropped opener Adam Lyth for the three-test series against Pakistan, with uncapped duo Alex Hales and Zafar Ansari named in the squad.

Lyth struggled alongside Captain Alastair Cook in England's seven tests in the summer against New Zealand and Australia and averaged only 20.38 runs.

Hales is England's opening batsman in one-day cricket and Ansari is an allrounder who bowls left-arm spin. James Taylor also has a chance to add to the two caps he won in 2012.

The series against Pakistan will be played in the United Arab Emirates.

England test squad: Alastair Cook (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Zafar Ansari, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Mark Wood.