“The conditions are probably the hottest I’ve played in”: England Test captain Ollie Pope on Multan Test against Pakistan
MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Ben Stokes presented a test cap to his Durham team-mate Brydon Carse, who will be making his debut as England’s new-look pace attack try to challenge Pakistan’s struggling top-order batting line-up.
Gus Atkinson, who had a sensational home season against West Indies and Sri Lanka, will be playing his first overseas test and Chris Woakes returns to test fold after 2-1/2 years.
In the absence of Stokes, England will be led by Ollie Pope for the fourth successive test match after he led the side to 2-1 win against Sri Lanka at home.
Pope said he would have chosen to bat too with the temperature expected to touch 40 degrees Celsius in Multan.
“The conditions are probably the hottest I’ve played in,” Pope said. “We would have had a bat too, but there’s a little bit of moisture in the pitch so we’re hoping to make the most of it first.”
Multan will host back-to-back test matches after the second test was shifted from Karachi due to construction work going on at the National Bank Stadium for next year’s Champions Trophy. Rawalpindi will host the third and final test from Oct. 24.
England swept Pakistan 3-0 when it toured Pakistan in 2022.
Line-ups:
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (captain), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Aamer Jamal, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Abrar Ahmed.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.
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