England announce squad for first Pakistan Test

By Admin -
English Squad
England will once again face a selection dilemma over the make-up of their pace attack after an unchanged 14-man squad was named on Wednesday for next week’s first Test against Pakistan.

Joe Root’s side rotated their frontline fast bowlers during the 2-1 series win over the West Indies, which ended on Tuesday, with the competition for places intense.

Stuart Broad responded to being left out of the opener with 16 wickets at under 11 in the last two Tests, while Chris Woakes ended the series with five wickets in the West Indies second innings.

James Anderson is England’s leading wicket-taker, the raw pace of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood has swung matches in England’s favour in the past while Sam Curran has won every Test he has played in at home.

Wood and Curran were the unfortunate seamers to be left out of the decider at Old Trafford but they have been retained in the squad to face Pakistan at the same ground next Wednesday.

Top-order batsmen James Bracey and Dan Lawrence, wicketkeeper Ben Foakes and slow left-armer Jack Leach will stay on with the group as reserves.

“After three Tests in quick succession against the West Indies, we now turn to an equally condensed Test series against Pakistan, with 15 days of Test cricket scheduled in a three-week period,” said national selector Ed Smith.

“Our 14-man squad is unchanged. County cricket now restarts on Saturday 1st August. We want to have sufficient reserves inside the bio-secure Test match ‘bubble’ but we may also want to give opportunities, where possible, for the reserves to play county cricket.

“As we seek the best balance here, England may make changes to the reserves during the three-match series against Pakistan.”

The second Test starts at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on August 13, with the third match taking place at the same venue from August 21.

The Tests are taking place behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.

England Test squad: Joe Root (captain), James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Dominic Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood.

Reserves: James Bracey, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Dan Lawrence.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

At least 11 dead, others injured after train catches fire near Rahim Yar Khan

By Admin -
Image
At least 11 passengers lost their lives and 30 others sustained burn injuries when three carriages of a Tezgam Express caught fire due to explosion in a gas stove, according to initial reports. Meanwhile, firefighters have initiated a rescue operation to extinguish the fire and other passengers are being evacuated from the train to safe places. The affected carriages are being separated from the train. The train, Tezgam, was on its way from Karachi to Rawalpindi, when a gas cylinder carried by a passenger exploded, leaving several dead and injured. The fire was caused by the explosion in a gas cylinder, confirmed the Pakistan Railways official. According to details, the passengers were cooking breakfast when the gas cylinder exploded. After the blast, the raging fire engulfed two other coaches as well. Fire fighters were still extinguishing the fire as per last reports.
Read more

Three soldiers martyred in terrorist attack on checkpost in Balochistan’s Zarghoon

By -
Image
As many as three soldiers embraced martyrdom and one terrorist was killed in an exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists in Zarghun, the area of Balochistan on Saturday. According to the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), an operation was launched in the area against suspected terrorists who attacked a security post. “Troops on the post retaliated readily to the fire raid thereby, pushing back the terrorists,” stated the military’s media wing. In the ensuing exchange of fire, three soldiers were martyred while one terrorist was also killed. The military identified the martyred soldiers as Sepoy Zaheer Ahmed, Sepoy Mudassir Shaheed and Lance Naik Abdul Qadeer. The ISPR stated that the post had recently been established to “check extortion efforts targeting coal mines in the area”. “Based on follow-up ISR effort, likely hideout of fleeing terrorists has been identified in nearby mountains and a deliberate blocking and sanitisation op...
Read more

Legal process to try May 9 planners, perpetrators under army act begins: COAS

By -
Image
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir has said that the legal process of trial against planners, instigators, abettors and perpetrators involved in the May 9 mayhem has commenced under Pakistan Army Act and Official Secret Act as per existing and established legal procedures derived from the Constitution. The army chief's statement came as he visited Jinnah House and an army installation in Lahore, which were blatantly attacked and vandalised by “politically motivated” rioters, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a handout. The COAS was also given a briefing on events of May 9 dubbed by the military as ‘Black Day’ — the day when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters ransacked and torched military installations across the country following the arrest of their leader Imran Khan in a graft case. Addressing the garrison officers and soldiers at Corps Headquarters, Gen Munir emphasised that any action aimed at widening a gulf between people and the milita...
Read more