Ollie Pope to be dropped for Ben Stokes, says Nasser Hussain ahead of 2nd Test against Pakistan

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has said it won't be easy for England to make room for their captain Ben Stokes for the forthcoming second Test against Pakistan.

The veteran allrounder missed the recently-concluded first Test in Multan owing to a hamstring injury. While missing the captain is a big blow for any team, England did not miss Ben Stokes much as they went on to win the first Test by an innings and 47 runs.

On a pitch where there was hardly anything for the bowlers, England came up with a remarkable effort with both bat and ball to take the lead in a three-match series. Batting first, Pakistan piled up a huge total of 556 runs thanks to centuries from Shan Masood (151), Abdullah Shafique (102) and Agha Salman (104*).

In reply, England piled up a mammoth total of 823/7 (declared). Harry Brook played a monumental knock of 317 runs while Joe Root scored 262 runs to propel England to a huge total. In the second innings, England's bowlers came up with a remarkable effort to power their team to a memorable victory.

Riding on Jack Leach's 4-wicket haul, England bowled out Pakistan for 220 runs in the second innings. Pacers Brydon Carse and Gus Atkinson impressed on the flat pitch as well, taking two wickets each while Chris Woakes picked up one wicket.

Ben Stokes to play as a batsman?

While teams usually don't make any changes to their playing eleven after a win let alone a famous win, England are likely to make at least one change to their team. Their talismanic captain Ben Stokes is likely to be included in the playing eleven if he recovers fully.

And while only time will tell who makes way for Ben Stokes in the team, Nasser Hussain believes Ollie Pope looks most vulnerable. Even though Pope led the team in Multan, the former cricketer-turned-commentator believes that Pope could make way for the allrounder in England's playing eleven.

Former England cricketer Ian Ward asked Hussain about his opinion on Ben Stokes playing only as a batsman. In reply, Hussain said that if the England captain plays the game purely as a batter, Pope is likely to miss out.

"If Ben Stokes is fit, but to play as a batsman only, what do you do?," asked Ward while speaking on Sky Sports.

In reply, Hussain said: "To play as a batsman only? Well, Pope would be the most vulnerable, so...

Ward was quick to remind Hussain that Pope was the captain before the latter said: "He won't be if Ben plays, so I don't know."

Speaking further, Hussain said that Ben Stokes could also replace the second spinner in the team if he bowls on his return. Hussain admitted that even if the hosts make the surface rough in order to aid the spinners, the pitch is likely to spin much from the very first day. He then went on to say that Stokes could also replace Shoaib Bashir in the side.

"That is a really tricky one. If he can bowl a bit, you might bring him in for the second spinner. If it's the same pitch as this, you're going to have to read that pitch well.

"They may just absolutely, you know, rough it up and want to get it to spin. It doesn't spin that much," said Hussain.

"Concrete here. So, however much they try and rough it up, it still doesn't spin until day four, day five.

"So, you know, maybe Stokes in for Bashir, and then if he can bowl a little bit. Ollie Pope was a little bit, almost giving it away, that Ben will be fit. We've seen him run around or whatever.

"But he couldn't play as one of three seamers. That is for certain. You couldn't go three seamers and two spinners, because here it doesn't spin that much. So the third seamer has to do a massive role. So he has to be one of four seamers, which would leave either a spinner or a batter vulnerable," he added.

Who could miss out if Stokes returns for the second Pakistan Test? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/XnddfPcuVU

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) October 11, 2024