Bad News For England! Ben Stokes Ruled Out Of 1st Test Against Pakistan

Star all-rounder Ben Stokes, who is still recovering from a hamstring tear, will miss England’s first Test of the three-match series against Pakistan in Multan. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) took to X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday (October 5) to announce England’s playing XI for the series opener against the Shan Masood-led side at Multan Cricket Stadium. Ollie Pope, who led England to a 2-1 series win over Sri Lanka last month, will lead the Poms in the first Test starting on Monday (October 7).

Zak Crawley is back in the playing XI after missing the last series against Sri Lanka due to injury, and spinner Jack Leach also returns to the side. Leach last played for England in January 2024 against India and since then has been out of action due to injury.

“Durham seamer Brydon Carse will be making his Test debut. With England captain Ben Stokes still recovering from a hamstring tear, Ollie Pope will captain the side in his absence. Somerset spinner Jack Leach makes a return to the Test set-up for the first time since the India tour in January, while Kent opening bat Zak Crawley rejoins the team after fully recovering from a broken finger sustained during the summer,” ECB said in a release.

Pacer Brydon Carse will make his Test debut in Multan and replace Josh Hull in the playing XI after he was out of the Test series against Pakistan due to an injury.

England’s playing XI for the 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, Shoaib Bashir

England whitewashed Pakistan in 2022

In the last Test series played between England and Pakistan in December 2022, the Ben Stokes-led side defeated Pakistan in all three matches to clean sweep the series. The English team has won five out of six Test matches played so far in the ongoing 2024-25 season. On the other hand, Pakistan has lost all five Tests played so far under Shan Masood’s captaincy.

The left-handed batter replaced Babar Azam as Pakistan’s Test captain last year after he stepped down from leadership but is yet to open his win account.

The upcoming three matches against England are a must-win for Pakistan to keep alive their chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final. As of now, they sit in the No. 8 position in the points table.