England Announce 17-Man Squad for Pakistan Tour: Exploratory phase: Ben Stokes and Crawley Return
England has released their 17-man squad for the Pakistan tour in October which has Ben Stokes and Zak Crawley in the list. They both missed the recent Sri Lanka Test series because of injuries, but they look good enough to be selected. Ben Stokes, who twisted his hamstring during the Hundred assault, and Crawley, who has not played since July, are expected to be match fit by the time England sets off for the tour. Sri Lanka team excluded rising star Dan Lawrence, who replaced Crawley on the tour.
The ECB claims Crawley to be on the right route of his recovery while Ben Stokes is also expected to be fit to play after missing the series against Sri Lanka.
Full Squad: Those pre-selected are Ben Ben Stokes, Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.
Only two new-comers are in the list of team’s members: Brydon Carse and Jordan Cox. Carse, who had his England debut in 2021, has just serve a ban over betting on cricket fixtures and it lapsed on August 28. The spin attack has largely been bolstered by the inclusion of Rehan Ahmed and Jack Leach who did not feature in the Indian series. Josh Hull continues the downward pattern, while Mark Wood will not be able to play.
It will be England’s tour of Pakistan since 2022 when England has won the series in that country. The touted eight players in the victorious team of today’s encounter will be available for this series.
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