England confirm playing XI for ENG vs PAK 2024 1st Test; Jack Leach returns, Brydon Carse handed debut

The England cricket team has confirmed their playing XI for the opening Test against Pakistan in Multan, beginning on October 7. The tourists have opted for two spinners in Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach, while Brydon Carse will make his debut. Carse will play alongside Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson as the third seamer.

As things stand, Ollie Pope will continue to lead the visitors as Ben Stokes continues his recovery from the hamstring injury suffered in The Hundred 2024 fixture between the Northern Superchargers and Manchester Originals. It will be the fourth successive time that Pope leads the Englishmen, having captained them in all three Tests against Sri Lanka this summer.

Leach, selected as one of the three specialist spinners in the squad, will play his first Test since the one in Hyderabad against India earlier this year. The left-arm spinner has taken 45 wickets in nine matches at 22.77 for Somerset in County Championship Division One 2024. Carse, meanwhile, showed plenty of promise during the limited-overs series against Australia with his pace.

Hence, he has been handed a Test debut. The 29-year-old has picked up 127 scalps in 48 first-class matches at 33.78 and has played 23 white-ball internationals.

England playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.

Jack Leach was England's highest wicket-taker during the previous series in Pakistan

The tourists will be bouyed by the return of Leach into the playing XI as he was quite incisive during England's three-Test tour of Pakistan in 2022. With 15 scalps in six matches, he was their best bowler as the veteran's accuracy proved to be helpful on docile pitches.

With Pakistan struggling against the likes of Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan in their recent series loss to Bangladesh, Leach's bowling could be a handful.