Ben Stokes, England’s usual captain, will not be available for the first Test match against Pakistan in Multan as he recovers from a hamstring injury he suffered during a match in The Hundred more than two months ago.
In Stokes’s absence, Ollie Pope will continue to captain England in what will be his first away Test as captain and his fourth straight overall. Last month, he guided England to a 2-1 series victory against Sri Lanka at home.
Brydon Carse, a fast bowler with 127 first-class wickets at 33.78 in 48 matches, will make his Test debut. In the fast bowling department, he will be accompanied by Chris Woakes, who is playing his first overseas Test in 2.5 years, and Gus Atkinson, who debuted in the Tests this summer. Carse, who took eight wickets in all five of the ODIs against Australia, flows into this series.
The three will be playing in a first-class match in Pakistan for the first time. Ben Duckett will be joined at the top of the order by Crawley, who on the opening day of the Rawalpindi Test in 2022 established the precedent for England’s record 500+ score with a 111-ball 122. After breaking his finger trying to make a catch in the slips during the final Test match against the West Indies, the tall right-handed batter was unable to play in the three matches against Sri Lanka.
The regular spinners in the side are left-arm orthodox Jack Leach and off-spinner Shoaib Bashir. Before hitting in the nets on Saturday, Stokes engaged in shuttle sprints with England’s strength and conditioning coach Peter Sim. The all-round player has already said that, given the high likelihood of recurrence associated with hamstring injuries, he will not take any chances when it comes to his return.
England hopes that this will be his return to international cricket when the second Test, which is scheduled to begin in Multan on October 15, begins. Monday marks the start of the first Test, while Rawalpindi will host the third Test starting on October 24.
England squad for the first Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (C), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse (Debut), Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir
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