NEWS
Follow UsEngland are set to play three spinners in the third and final Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, starting on October 24 (Thursday). Legspinner Rehan Ahmed has been added to the playing XI and will form a spin trio with Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach. Gus Atkinson is also back, with Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts being the ones to miss out.
Pakistan lost the first Test in Multan by an innings and 47 runs and then decided to use the same surface for the second game, which was also played at the same venue. The move turned out to be a masterstroke as Sajid Khan and Noman Ali took all the 20 wickets between them and helped Pakistan hammer England by 152 runs.
The hosts are now trying to dry out the pitch in Rawalpindi to yield similar results. Atkinson, who was rested for the second game, has been brought back and is the only frontline pacer in the England XI. If needed, Ben Stokes can chip in as well. Meanwhile, Rehan has played four Tests and picked up 18 wickets at an average of 34.50.
"They've had the rakes out, the fans and the heaters on the pitch. Everyone goes and looks at the wicket and says something different… Hopefully, it's just like any other Pakistani pitch. It's good to bat on for the first few days and then hopefully, we can get a bit of turn out of it at the back end of the game,” said England’s middle-order batter Harry Brook.
"I think the conditions are going to be a little bit different," Brook said. "We played on an extremely flat pitch here last time. It was awesome to bat on, and we scored a good rate of knots. This game's probably going to be slightly different. It might turn earlier on: who knows? It might be a good pitch to start with and we get off to a flyer."
England’s playing XI for the third Test - Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out on our content — big time. Download the App here.
