England skipper Ben Stokes hinted they are keeping all the options open, including Ollie Pope as wicket-keeper, as they figure out the best playing combination to win the Test at Multan.
England pulled off a ‘one for the ages’ victory when they defeated Pakistan by 74 runs in the first Test at Rawalpindi. On a pitch where a result looked impossible for the first four days, it was only made possible because of England’s aggressive approach.
Stokes reckons they might have to be even more adventurous in the second Test at Multan with the late start to day’s play and lights issues in the evening.
“If it does pan out the way it could, with the late start and early finish, we could end up having only 300 to 350 overs in the Test match,”
he said.
The captain stated that with those conditions in mind, England will look to field a strong XI capable of winning the match in a shorter time.
“There are a few different options we are going to lay out in front of each other and try to understand what is the best option to try and win this Test match.”
“We’ll find a way to pick a team which we find is best to win the game, with those two things: the start time potentially delayed and coming off early because of the light. We might have to get even a bit more adventurous with what we do.”
It means England could go heavy on the bowling with Mark Wood replacing Liam Livingstone, who has been ruled out of the series. Wood hasn’t played a Test since March but is expected to be a point of difference with his speed against Pakistan, who generally struggle with short-pitch bowling.
Also read 👉 Rauf to miss second Test against England; Livingstone ruled out until end of series
If Ben Foakes plays, then England will have to leave out Will Jacks, giving them one lesser bowling option, which is why they could stick with Pope as the wicket-keeper.
The 24-year-old kept wickets in the first Test after Foakes was ruled out. He scored a century in the first innings batting at no. 3 and was good with the gloves for the most part. The player was at fault late in day five, not attempting the catch which went in between him and the first slip when England needed a wicket to win. However, he had produced a smart stumping and a stunning catch earlier in the day.
