Captain Joe Root returns at Old Trafford following the arrival of his second child, while 34-year-old Denly will not be involved.

Root will slot into his usual number four role, while Zak Crawley, who struck an impressive 76 in the second innings at Southampton, will move up to three.

An average of 29.53 after 15 Tests, with no centuries, left Denly batsman vulnerable..

And Root said: "It's never an easy decision, never easy having to leave someone out.

"With Joe over a period of time he's done a brilliant job for us, he's helped show our identity as a side and how we played moving forward. It's a very difficult decision but we've gone a different way.

"You watch Zak's progression since he's been involved in the team, his game has continued to get stronger.

"Joe is someone who has done a fantastic job for us over a period of time and he'll be as frustrated as anyone that he's not been able to covert those opportunities."

England have also rested pace bowlers James Anderson and Mark Wood for the match.

The pair will not take part at Old Trafford, with Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes in pole position to replace them while all-rounder Sam Curran and uncapped seamer Ollie Robinson have been added to bolster the options.

Broad gave an emotional interview after being omitted from the series opener, describing himself as "frustrated, gutted and angry" but that now looks to be part of a wider workload management strategy.

Australian Associated Press