England set to host Pakistan in a three-match Test series, starting August 19 at Headingley. It marks their first outing since former captain Ben Stokes announced his retirement from international cricket. Notably, after the first Test against New Zealand in June, Stokes, along with teammate Gus Atkinson, headed to a bar in London, which was against team protocols.
On top of that, they invited trouble as one of England’s security guards got hurt and was in need of stitches. It resulted in Stokes being suspended from the second Test of the series. He featured in the third and, interestingly, announced his decision to retire from international cricket after the match.
Joe Root was eventually reappointed as captain after three years. Harry Brook, who was the vice-captain of the side, wasn’t promoted, which surprised Stokes, as he later mentioned in an interaction with Stuart Broad and Jos Buttler.
England opt to bowl first against Pakistan
Root, on his return as Test captain, won the toss and elected to field first. After winning the toss, the captain confirmed that the top order isn’t much changed, before announcing the four pacers.
“It’s the top, you’ve put me on the spot here, top seven as you probably has been made pretty clear, and then the four seamers being Jofra, Gus, Josh Tongue, and Ollie Robinson,” Root said.
One obvious change was the return of Jordan Cox, who returned to the playing XI after Jacob Bethell was ruled out with a knee injury.
On the other hand, Pakistan also had to make an obvious change after captain Babar Azam was ruled out of the opening game due to a hand injury. In his place, Salman Agha has been announced as the new captain. Abdullah Shafique, in the meantime, has been slotted at number four, replacing Babar.
Pakistan (Playing XI): Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Agha (c), Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Abbas
England (Playing XI): Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (c), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith (wk), Ollie Robinson, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue
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