Ben Stokes to play second Test against Pakistan? Ollie Pope delivers massive update

England are looking set to welcome their captain Ben Stokes into the team for the upcoming second Test against Pakistan. The second game of the three-match series is scheduled to begin on Tuesday (October 15) in Multan.

The veteran allrounder missed the recently concluded first Pakistan vs England Test due to a hamstring injury. In his absence, Ollie Pope led the team to a memorable win over the hosts. Ben Stokes has been sidelined since August after suffering a torn hamstring while playing in the Hundred.

He also missed the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka at home that England won 2-1 under the captaincy of Pope. Even though Ben Stokes was training hard before the first Test against Pakistan, he did not recover fully for the game.

However, he is now looking set to make his much-awaited return to competitive cricket. Speaking at the end of the first Test against Pakistan, Pope delivered a promising update on Stokes. While he did not really confirm Stokes' return, he dropped a huge hint by saying that the England captain 'is looking to come back'.

When asked if Stokes will play the second Test, Pope said: "I’m actually not 100%. He’s been training really well this week. He’s as keen as ever to get playing again, so fingers crossed he’s all good."

No Ben Stokes, no problem:

Even though England were without their talismanic captain Ben Stokes for the first Test against Pakistan, they did not miss his services much. Led by Ollie Pope, the visitors went on to thrash Pakistan by an innings and 47 runs to take the lead in the three-match series.

Batting first, Pakistan piled up a huge total of 556 runs only to become the first-ever team to post a 500-plus total and suffer an innings defeat. Captain Shan Masood top-scored for his side, scoring 151 while Abdullah Shafique (102) and Agha Salman (104*) scored centuries too.

In reply, England declared their first innings with a mammoth total of 823/7. Joe Root and Harry Brook starred with the bat, scoring 262 and 317 runs respectively. Ben Duckett (84) and Zak Crawley (78) played impressive knocks too.

With just over a day remaining after England's innings ended, the Test looked destined to end in a draw. However, England's bowlers came up with a brilliant effort to power their team to a win. Riding on spinner Jack Leach's 4-wicket haul, the visitors bowled out Pakistan for 220 runs.

At one stage, Pakistan were reeling at 82 for 6 before a 109-run stand between Salman and Aamer Jamal provided some resistance. Once Leach dismissed Salman to break the stand, Pakistan's tail did not wag for long.