Saq
Ben Stokes returns as captain for England’s three-Test tour of Pakistan next month while Brydon Carse could make his debut just weeks after serving a ban for breaching betting rules.
Stokes will captain the team after missing the 2-1 home win over Sri Lanka with a hamstring injury. Opener Zak Crawley is also part of the squad announced on Tuesday after missing the same series with a broken finger.
All-rounder Carse, who returned to action in late August after serving a three-month ban for historic betting violations, appears to be the main beneficiary of a year-ending elbow injury to Durham team-mate and fellow paceman Mark Wood.
The South African-born 29-year-old, who has made 17 international white-ball appearances for England, takes his place in a 17-man squad alongside another player yet to make his Test debut, Jordan Cox.
The tour is scheduled to begin on October 7 in Multan.
Further tests are due to take place in Karachi and Rawalpindi, but renovations ahead of next year’s Champions Trophy are causing problems at those venues.
One or more matches could be moved to the United Arab Emirates or Sri Lanka.
Dan Lawrence, who made an impromptu start against Sri Lanka in Crawley’s absence, has been left out.
Young left-arm fast bowler Josh Hull has been retained while Jack Leach and Rehan Ahmed – two spinners who featured in England’s historic 3-0 series win over Pakistan in 2022 – are recalled.
Leach has been replaced as England’s number one spinner this season by Shoaib Bashir, but the Somerset pair, plus Leicestershire’s Ahmed, form Stokes’ trio of frontline slow bowling options.
England squad for three-match test tour of Pakistan:
Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone , Chris Woakes.
jw/pb
Saq
