ENG vs PAK: England will take on Pakistan, as both teams now have very few chances to make it into the WTC final, Pakistan are in the quest for their first home test win since they have now been winless at home for over 1200 days now.
England on the other hand has registered the maximum number of wins in the history of the World Test Championship, though they have never made it to the finals of the WTC. With the approaching series, Ben Stokes might once again be not seen in the England lineup for the first match.
Stokes has since suffered an injury which he sustained during the Hundred, a torn hamstring injury which extended his recovery phase. In his absence, Chris Woakes will once again feature as the bowling all-rounder and for the first time will feature in red-ball cricket in Asia since 2022.
Also, the ace pacer from England ODIs will be included as Brydon Carse will mark his test debut for England. Ollie Pope will now captain the side for a fourth consecutive match in the absence of the England full-time skipper, after the Sri Lanka home series, which they lost 2-1.
Carse this time has went past the likes of Olly Stone and Matthew Potts, both of which have featured in the Sri Lanka series, though Potts also made a significant contribution to their success in the ODI series against Australia.
Pakistan has also been heard favouring the dominant side and thought of idealising Brendon McCullum’s game plan of bazball or aggressive cricket in the longest format of the game. Carse is England’s 6th debutant in the red-ball series, after Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Smith and lastly Josh Hull.
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With Woakes, Atkinson as well as Carse in the side, England will now have three bowling all-rounders who can play a hefty role with the bat as well. While also Jack Leach has also played many significant innings with the bat for England as well.
England Starting 11 for 1st Test against Pakistan: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope [C], Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith [wk], Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir.
