England want to challenge struggling Pakistan with a new attack in the first Test

MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — England is aiming to challenge struggling Pakistan with a new-look pace attack in the opening Test of a three-match series that begins Monday in the scorching heat of Multan.

Fast bowler Brydon Carse will make his Test debut while Gus Atkinson will play his first Test abroad following his impressive home seasons against the West Indies and Sri Lanka.

All-rounder Chris Woakes was included in the eleven after Ben Stokes was ruled out for the fourth consecutive Test match due to the ongoing rehabilitation of his injured hamstring. Woakes will play his first game in two and a half years and it will be his first Test in Asia since 2016.

Carse’s pace gave him an edge over Olly Stone and Matthew Potts on the Pakistan tour and England will be hoping the Durham pace bowler will challenge batters by regularly reaching over 90mph.

England will be led by Ollie Pope, who won 2-1 at home against Sri Lanka, in the absence of Stokes, who sustained a hamstring injury during the Hundred and may return to the front line in the second Test, also in Multan .

“I kind of just learned on the job,” Pope said. “Of course it was my first captain abroad. Ben will also be nearby…so I can listen to the voices around me and still do things that get in my way.”

England defeated Pakistan 3-0 through their high-risk, high-reward ‘Bazball’ approach during the 2022 tour when they played in Multan, Karachi and Rawalpindi.

This time they were scheduled to play at the same venues, but renovations at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi for next year’s Champions Trophy forced the Pakistan Cricket Board to organize back-to-back Tests in Multan, with Rawalpindi scheduled to host the third Test from March 24. October.

England have also named spinners Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir in the starting XI in anticipation of the pitch leveling off in temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius expected in Multan next week. Leach was the second highest wicket-taker in Pakistan’s last series with 15 wickets.

“Everyone is so happy to have Leach in and around the squad for this series,” Pope said. “We obviously saw how well he bowled last time here on pitches that always have a lot to offer… and he’s worked closely with Shoaib Bashir throughout. “His career at Somerset and those guys is going really well.”

Pakistan have strengthened their batting line-up by adding all-rounder Aamer Jamal for the first Test after being defeated 0-2 at home by Bangladesh in the last series. Shan Masood has lost all five Test matches since being appointed red-ball captain.

Masood lost 3-0 to Australia in his debut series as Test skipper, where Jamal took 18 wickets and proved useful as a batter in the order. Jamal missed the series against Bangladesh because he was undergoing rehabilitation for his back injury.

“With the return of Aamer Jamal, we have an advantage,” said Masood. “He also completed the order and took 18 wickets. We have (leg-spinner) Abrar and (off-spinner) Salman who give us spin option.”

Pakistan has a dismal record in home Test matches and has not won at home since beating South Africa 2-0 in early 2021, while losing to England, Australia and Bangladesh. New Zealand also came close but Pakistan managed to end the series 0-0.

Pakistan had their chance to beat England when both teams last met in Multan two years ago. Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed made an impressive debut by grabbing 11 wickets before Pakistan narrowly lost by 26 runs when Mark Wood, who missed this series through injury, took the crucial wicket of Saud Shakeel.

“It was my dream debut and last time we lost pretty narrowly,” Abrar said on the eve of the first Test. “I hope to deliver a game-winning performance this time and bring some happy moments.”

Pakistan’s top batters have long struggled, with premier batter Babar Azam failing to score a half-century in his last 16 Test innings. Opener Abdullah Shafique also struggled against Bangladesh, while Masood failed to convert starts into big scores with just a half-century in four innings.

But Masood insisted that Pakistan needed to give their struggling batters a longer run to win key moments and give momentum to the series against aggressive England.

“Last time we were close to winning but we let the games slip by,” Masood said. “We know how they play but at the end of the day we have to see how we deal with it. We have a clear mind and that’s why we named the XI.”

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