England Announce Squad For First Test Against Pakistan

England, on Wednesday, announced their 14-man squad as well as four reserve players for the forthcoming first Test against Pakistan. Both the teams will lock horns in a three-Test series with the opener starting on next Wednesday (August 5) at Old Trafford.

The hosts have retained all the fast-bowlers who recently helped them beat West Indies in the three-match Test series. Along with the six pacers, spinner Dom Bess has also retained his place in the team as the sole spinner. England have named left-arm spinner Jack Leach in the reserve players’ list.

Joe Denly, who was dropped after the first Test defeat against West, failed to find a spot in the squad as well as in the reserves list. James Bracey and Dan Lawrence have been picked as reserves to provide back-up to the batsmen while Ben Foakes has been picked as the back-up wicket-keeper.

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All the 18 players were allowed to head home for a few days straight after the conclusion of the final Test against West Indies on Tuesday. The players will now assemble at Old Trafford on Sunday to prepare for the series against Pakistan.

“After three Tests in quick succession against the West Indies, we now turn to an equally condensed Test series against Pakistan, with 15 days of Test cricket scheduled in a three-week period. Our 14-man squad is unchanged,” said National Selector Ed Smith.

“County cricket now restarts on Saturday 1st August. We want to have sufficient reserves inside the bio-secure Test match ‘bubble’, but we may also want to give opportunities, where possible, for the reserves to play county cricket. As we seek the best balance here, England may make changes to the reserves during the three-match series against Pakistan,” he added.

The series will mark the resumption of international cricket for Pakistan while this will be the second series for the hosts amid the coronavirus pandemic. International cricket resumed earlier this month with the three-match series between England and West Indies.

England Test Squad:

Joe Root (captain), James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Dominic Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Reserve players:

James Bracey (Gloucestershire), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Jack Leach (Somerset), Dan Lawrence (Essex).

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