Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: The England cricket team reached Islamabad from Dubai by private airline flight EK 614 on Sunday morning.
The English team will play a Test match on Pakistani soil after seventeen years. Presidential-level security is being provided to the English team. Earlier, due to the political security situation, the practice session of the Pakistan team also had to be shifted from Rawalpindi to the Islamabad Club ground.
England’s cricket team reached Islamabad at 2:30 am (PST) on Sunday (today) morning from Abu Dhabi where they stayed for Pakistan’s Test tour. The World Cup 2022 final’s hero for England Ben Stokes is leading the English team on their first-ever Test tour to Pakistan after 2005.
Earlier this year in September-October, the England team toured Karachi and Lahore to play seven T20Is. The English team won the series 4-3 and lifted the trophy. According to the schedule, the three-match test series’ first Test will be played at Rawalpindi from (1-5 December) 2nd test in Karachi (9-13 December) and 3rd test will be played at Multan from (17-21 December).
The toss will be at 0930 and the first ball will be bowled at 1000 each day. After each day’s play, a squad member from each side will hold a media conference later in the day. The first Test starts in Rawalpindi on December 1. The series is very important for Pakistan to qualify for the finals of the ICC World Test Championship 2022-23.
Pakistan has selected two new players Mohammad Ali and Abrar Ahmed on the basis of their standout performance in domestic cricket and they are likely to make their debuts in the first Test.
Meanwhile, Leicestershire leg-spinning allrounder Rehan Ahmed has been officially added to England Men’s Test squad for the Pakistan tour. If selected during the three-match Test series, the 18-year-old will become the youngest player to play Test cricket for England Men, surpassing Yorkshire’s Brian Close, who represented the three lions at 18 years 149 days against New Zealand in July 1949.
England’s squad;
Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Joe Root, James Anderson, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Rehan Ahmed, Will Jacks, Keaton Jennings, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood.
Pakistan’s Squad:
Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shan Masood, Saud Shakeel, Salman Agha, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Abrar Ahmed, Zahid Mahmood, Mohammad Nawaz, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Ali.
Schedule of the training
On 26, and 27 November – Pakistan will practice from 0930 until 1530 at the Islamabad Club Ground. At the conclusion of the sessions, on 28 Nov – Pakistan and England will practice from 1000 until 1300 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium (RCS). On 29 Nov – Pakistan and England will practice from 1000 until 1300 at the RCS.
On 30 November – Pakistan captain Babar Azam and England captain Ben Stokes will hold pre-series media conferences between 1300-1330 and will unveil the test series trophy. The two sides will practice from 1000 until 1300 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
From 1-5 December – Pakistan and England will go head-to-head in the first of the three Tests at the RCS. The toss will take place at 0930 and the first ball is scheduled to be bowled at 1000 each day. After every day’s play, a squad member from each side will hold a post-day media conference.
