New Delhi: Ben Stokes will return to his captaincy duty for England in the second Test against Pakistan after being out of action for two months with a torn hamstring. The game, which is set to be played from October 15 in Multan will see England eyeing a series sweep, having taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. In the past week, Stokes fast-tracked his recovery and is set to replace pacer Chris Woakes in the playing eleven of the second Test.
England announced their eleven on Monday and also named Matthew Potts who has been roped in place of rested Gus Atkinson. The England team is expecting a low-scoring Test match in Multan as the match is set to be played on the same track that was used during the first game where England emerged victorious by an innings and 47 runs. The pitch has been watered heavily but has eventually dried out in the sun during the two practice days. This suggests that the surface could bring the spinners into the game.
⬅️ Gus Atkinson
⬅️ Chris Woakes
➡️ Matt Potts
➡️ Ben Stokes
Full focus on securing the series win 👊 pic.twitter.com/wUU8gD6q4g
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) October 14, 2024
Stokes has been regularly bowling in the training sessions and will act as England’s third seam bowling option other than Potts and Brydon Carse. James Anderson, who is England’s fast-bowling consultant, on Sunday, said, “It could be a big week for the spinners. I don’t know about his (Stokes) full share… but he’s still looking at contributing a pretty decent amount with the ball,” as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
The English seamers did pretty heavy work in the first Test despite winning the game by an innings margin. Atkinson bowled a total of 29 overs while Carse sent down 38 and Woakes ran for 35. Atkinson and Woakes were only rested after playing all the six Tests of England’s home summer. For Carse, the series should be fresher having spent June, July, and August serving a ban.
Retained players
Ben Duckett retains his spot as one of the openers after recovering from a dislocated thumb that he suffered during the second evening of the opening Test while wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith will move down to the no. 7 spot to allow Stokes to return to his favoured position i.e. no. 6. As far as the spinners are concerned, England are sticking with Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir despite the latter’s quiet outing in the first Test. Rehan Ahmed remains the other spin option on the bench.
England’s XI for 2nd Test vs Pakistan:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Jack Leach, and Shoaib Bashir.
England have made two changes to the squad for the second Test against Pakistan, the most notable being Ben Stokes who will be back as the skipper of the team after missing the first Test. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
