1st Test between Pakistan and England in Rawalpindi is to go ahead as scheduled
The first Test between Pakistan and England in Rawalpindi on Thursday, December 1, will proceed as per schedule as agreed by both cricketing boards.
The move comes after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) agreed to delay the decision on it until morning.
Officials of both boards discussed the outbreak of viral infections in the English camp, leaving several players under the weather and doubtful of participating. They agreed to postpone the Test to Friday, December 2, if the visiting players don't recover well enough to take the field on the scheduled day.
The ECB has informed the PCB that they are in a position to field an XI, and, as such, the first Test will commence as per schedule today (Thursday, 1 December) at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
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The joint statement read as:
ECB has informed the PCB that they are in a position to field an XI, and, as such, the first Test will commence as per schedule today (Thursday, 1 December) at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium."
The first Test at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will be England's first in Pakistan since 2005.
The second Test will take place in Multan between December 9-13, while Karachi will host the third between December 17-21.
Pakistan name their playing XI for the 1st Test
A day after England named their playing XI for the opening Test, the Men in Green also announced theirs well before the game. The hosts have selected a solid team, notably handing a Test debut to Haris Rauf and Muhammad Ali.
Pakistan playing XI
Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (c), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Muhammad Ali, Zahid Mahmood.
Introducing our playing XI!
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With James Anderson and Jack Leach most affected by the bug, the visitors could make changes. Skipper Ben Stokes was also among those.
Training on Wednesday, November 30, was optional with only Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, and Joe Root attending the session. Out of those, only Jennings didn't make it to the squad.