England captain Ben Stokes is eyeing a return to the team for the second Test against Pakistan in Multan, according to stand-in skipper Ollie Pope.
Stokes missed England’s remarkable innings victory in the series-opening match at the same venue, having failed to recover in time from a torn hamstring sustained in August.
Talking about England’s options for the second Test starting on Tuesday – live on Sky Sports Cricket from 5.30am (first ball, 6am) – Pope let slip that “Stokes is looking to come back and play”.
Asked specifically on the captain’s possible return, Pope smiled and added sheepishly: “I’m actually not 100 per cent.
“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.”
Who could miss out for England if Stokes returns?
If Stokes is to play, England will have a dilemma on how to best balance the side and who to leave out from their stunning first Test triumph.
Pope, despite having served as his deputy, is arguably most at risk among the batters after being dismissed for a two-ball duck in Multan as England amassed 823-7 declared in their first innings.
Ben Duckett sustained a thumb injury during the Test but any concern over his involvement in the second Test was likely dispelled when he returned to score 84 batting at No 4.
Stokes could potentially come in for fellow all-rounder Chris Woakes, but is he fit enough to take such a prominent role with the ball as England’s third seamer. Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain is not so sure.
“Pope almost gave things away (in his interview) that Stokes will be fit, but he can’t play as one of only three seamers, that is for certain,” Hussain said. “He has to be one of four, leaving either a spinner or batter vulnerable.
“If he’s playing as a batter only, then Ollie Pope is the most vulnerable. I know he’s captain, but he won’t be if Ben plays.
“It’s a tricky one: if he can bowl a bit, you could maybe bring him in for the second spinner.
“If it’s the same sort of pitch, it won’t spin much, not until day four or day five, so could Stokes maybe come in for Shoaib Bashir?”
Pope: Massive credit to the two greedy Yorkshiremen
If Stokes was to come back into the side purely as a batter, certainly Harry Brook and Joe Root would be assured of their places after their staggering feats of batting in the first Test.
Brook (317) became just the fourth England batter to register a triple-hundred in Test cricket, while Root (262) notched a career-best score and sixth Test double-ton as part of a record 454-run partnership.
England’s victory saw Pakistan become the first team in the history of Test cricket to lose by an innings after scoring 500 plus in their first innings.
“Whenever you get 550, whatever pitch it is, it’s always a good score,” Pope told Sky Sports. “But we also knew that if we bat anything like we know we can – other than myself – then we knew we could go really big.
“The way Harry Brook and Joe Root put us in a position where we had a chance of winning a game, massive credit to them. Obviously we’ve got two greedy Yorkshiremen.
“The skills they showed but also the fitness they showed as well. I think the fact that we knew that we needed a big score really kept them driving towards those massive numbers.
“I loved every bit of watching the two of them bat. What they did was seriously special and a joy to watch. The way they played was just phenomenal.”
First Test: Multan – October 7-11 – England won by an innings and 47 runs
Second Test: Multan – October 15-19
Third Test: Rawalpindi – October 24-28
Every match from the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup is also live on Sky Sports from October 3-20 with Australia aiming for a third straight title and seventh overall, and England seeking to triumph for the first time since the inaugural edition in 2009.
Watch day one of the second Test between Pakistan and England in Multan, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event from 5.30am on Tuesday, ahead of play starting from 6am. Stream with NOW
Fabio Wardley’s huge rematch with Frazer Clarke is on the epic Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol bill on Saturday October 12 live on Sky Sports Box Office. Book Wardley v Clarke 2 and Beterbiev v Bivol now!
