The England and Wales Cricket Board has announced a 17-man selection for their away series against Pakistan, just one day after the conclusion of the series against Sri Lanka.
The only players without caps who have been called up are Brydon Carse of Durham, who bowls all-round, and Jordan Cox of Essex, who bats wicketkeeper-batter. All of the other names are regulars who have played for the squad in the longest format in their last series. Eight members of the team, including Joe Root, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes, Jack Leach, and Rehan Ahmed, will get another opportunity to perform at their best in Pakistan. Interestingly, they took part in the 2022 England tour of Pakistan, which the English won 3-0.
Since the first Test of the five-match series against India, ace spinner Leach, who is presently grinding it out at Division One of the County Championship with Somerset, will be making a return to the red-ball squad. In December 2022, Rehan, the cunning leg-spinner who made history as the youngest men’s cricket player to play Test cricket for England, will try to make the most of the subcontinental conditions.
📝 Our 17-strong squad to take on Pakistan! 🏏
🇵🇰 #PAKvENG 🏴 | #EnglandCricket
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 10, 2024
Ben Stokes, the England Test captain, will return to Pakistan for a tour.
In addition, the roster for Josh Hull’s first senior tour with England includes the lanky 6’7″ left-arm pacer, who made his debut in the third and final game of the three-match series. After missing the West Indies series in July, batsman Zak Crawley was added back into the Test lineup. The 26-year-old suffered a fracture to his little finger on his right hand.
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Ben Stokes, the normal Test captain, is also included as he continues to heal from a hamstring rupture that prevented him from playing in the most recent Test series victory over Sri Lanka. While competing for the Northern Superchargers in the just finished The Hundred, he sustained the terrible injury. The Pakistan Cricket Board will reveal the series’ finalised locations later this week. With England having already announced their lineup for the series, that is the only thing left to confirm.
England’s squad for Test series versus Pakistan:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jordan Cox, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Brydon Carse, Josh Hull, Matthew Potts, Gus Atkinson, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.
India
