MULTAN: Pakistan captain Shan Masood warned on the eve of Monday’s first Test in Multan that his side would still be facing a formidable England, despite the absence of their captain Ben Stokes.

Ollie Pope will again lead England after deputising successfully in the recent 2-1 series win over Sri Lanka as Stokes, 33, was ruled out as he recovers from a hamstring injury.

“We all know the quality of Ben Stokes,” said Shan on Sunday ahead of the start of the three-Test series. “He is one of the top all-rounders of the world.

“England’s strength will not lessen with one individual (missing),” he warned. “They are still very competitive.

“If you look at their playing eleven then it’s very balanced with all-rounders, and they have two spinners and three fast bowlers with deep batting, so their loss is that of an individual.”

Stokes led England to an emphatic 3-0 Test series victory on England’s last tour in 2022, the first time Pakistan had been swept at home.

England return with Pakistan on a painful losing streak — winless in their last 10 home Tests and suffering a humiliating 2-0 home defeat to Bangladesh last month.

“They’ve obviously not had their strongest run recently, but we still see them as a highly skilled side,” said Pope. “They are a team we don’t take lightly.”

Pakistan named their team with a bowling attack of two fast bowlers in Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, medium-pacer Aamer Jamal and frontline spinner Abrar Ahmed.

An impressive Aamer took 18 wickets against Australia in three Tests in his debut series earlier this year, but missed the Bangladesh series with a back problem. He also contributed 143 runs.

“With Aamer we get an edge in the seam department,” said Shan.

With James Anderson and Stuart Broad retired, Mark Wood injured and Ollie Robinson not selected, none of England’s pace bowlers from the 2022 series remain.

But Shan cited Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse as threats.

“You cannot under-estimate anyone and need to be more cautious against any unknown player,” he noted.

POPE BACKS PACE ATTACK

Pope, meanwhile, had no doubt that Chris Woakes will expertly spearhead their pace attack “He’s still got that real hunger and desire to play a lot more Test cricket, which is brilliant for us,” Pope said of the seasoned all-rounder on Sunday. “He’s been working hard on his game to try and find different ways of taking wickets on different surfaces.

“Any side was going to miss Jimmy Anderson but at the same time, we’ve seen this summer that guys can step up and fill in for him.

“Chris Woakes, the skills that he’s got probably operating at a fairly similar pace, he’s been working hard on his skills so he can step up and be that real leader of the attack.”

Atkinson’s pace and reverse-swing skills would come in handy in Pakistan, said Pope, who also had high expectations of Carse.

“We’ve obviously got Gus Atkinson off the back of a really hot summer. A bit of extra pace with him and Brydon Carse too. So I think we’ve got the skill set to fill that gap that Jimmy’s left.

“Obviously, it’s never going to be easy, but it’s going to be a great opportunity for those guys to learn and to bowl in some different conditions and use their pace and their skills.”

Anderson, now England’s bowling coach, will join the squad in Multan soon.

The second match is also in Multan, from October 15, with the final Test in Rawalpindi beginning October 24.

PAKISTAN: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel, Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Aamer Jamal, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed

ENGLAND: Ollie Pope (captain), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jack Leach, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2024