Ben Stokes to return as England captain for second Test against Pakistan, Matthew Potts recalled
Updated 14/10/2024 at 11:01 GMT+1
Captain Ben Stokes will make his comeback from a hamstring injury in England’s second Test with Pakistan in Multan, starting on Tuesday. Durham seam-bowler Matthew Potts is also recalled to the side, with Gus Atkinson and Chris Woakes both sitting out the match following their efforts in a history-making first Test victory by an innings and 47 runs.
Triple-centurion Brook just wanted to 'get past dad's highest score'
Video credit: TNT Sports
Ben Stokes will make his return from a hamstring injury to captain England in the second Test with Pakistan in Multan, starting on Tuesday.
The Durham all-rounder has been working his way back from an injury he suffered while playing for the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred in mid-August, missing the record-breaking first Test victory over Pakistan.
Stokes’ county team-mate Matthew Potts has also been recalled in the only other change to the England XI, with Gus Atkinson and Chris Woakes sitting the next game out.
England recorded a history-making first Test victory by an innings and 47 runs, with the tourists racking up a first innings total of 823-7 declared, their highest total since 1938.
That mammoth score followed Pakistan’s first innings of 556, as England bounced back to become the first Test side to win by an innings after conceding 500 or more runs.
During that game, Harry Brook became the sixth England batter to score 300 or more runs, with a total of 317, sharing England's highest-ever partnership of 454 runs with Joe Root, who posted 262.
“I like to keep myself in a positive mindset and it allows me to tell myself, ‘When you get back onto the field, make sure that you’re fitter than you were when you got injured,'” Stokes told a news conference.
“You won’t see me miss any test match unless I’m injured.”
In an unusual move, the same pitch used in the first Test will be played on again, a “first” for bowling consultant and England legend James Anderson, who is with the squad in Pakistan.
"It's their decision, their conditions, their home game," he told the BBC over the weekend.
"They can do what they want. The fact that it's the same pitch doesn't determine the result."
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The playing conditions for the first Test drew criticism, with the pitch heavily favouring the batters. Ultimately, England capitalised as they wore down their hosts, who were bowled out for 220 in their second innings.
“I’ll be surprised if we turn up tomorrow and we’re playing a different one,” said Stokes..
“We could sit here and say, ‘It’s definitely going to do this, it is definitely going to do that,’ but who knows? You’d like to think that it’s going to offer the spinners a little bit more than it did last week.”
Pakistan have made a number of changes to their squad for the game, with ex-captain Babar Azam and fast bowler Naseem Shah among the players to be dropped.
England can wrap up a series victory with a game to spare if they win the second Test in Multan, with the third and final match scheduled to start in Rawalpindi next week.
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