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Pakistan v England | 1st Test | Rawalpindi | 1-5 December | Pre-match discussion

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These funky selections never worked for them in Asia in the past . On the last 2 tours of India, they made some very weird selections. Didn't change the outcome one bit.

Let's see if Baz really has a magic wand or not :inti
 
If this pitch is a road then Babar and Ramiz raja being sacked would be the happiest news ever.
 
Saj said:
Ben Stokes has named his XI for the first Test against Pakistan - Liam Livingstone debut and Ben Duckett returns

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Liam Livingstone, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach, Jimmy Anderson
Click to expand...

I guess Stokes is going to be bowling a lot then as the 3rd seamer. Interesting.

Hope Pakistan themselves don't go with a 4 man bowling unit. They need proper 5 bowlers and 4 should be seamers (Naseem, Rauf, Ali, Faheem).
 
Ridiculous selection from England.

I'm guessing they are putting faith in livingstone's bowling
 
I'd say they've had a look at the pitch and think their best bet is to bat, bat and bat. Then see if they can get out a tired opposition to crumble on the last day.

I swear I've seen this idea that part timers (such as Root & Livingstone) will be good enough to bowl like full time spinners in Asia from SENA touring teams before. I've never seen it work.
 
As per social media posts, 12 members of England squad has been tested positive for Covid-19. Not sure if the the news is true or fake.
 
England's preparations for their first Test match in Pakistan have been dealt a serious blow with around half the squad affected by an illness.

Captain Ben Stokes is among those affected, and it is believed to be a bug or virus rather than Covid, with England making their final training session ahead of the Test match on Wednesday morning optional.

Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope and Joe Root reported for the practice session at the stadium in Rawalpindi - taken by head coach Brendon McCullum - with the rest remaining at their Islamabad base.

Stokes had named his nominal starting XI for the match, including handing a debut to Liam Livingstone and a first Test recall since 2016 for Ben Duckett, but his plans could be forced to change due to the illness.

Despite not representing Lancashire in the County Championship since September 2021 as he has been focusing on shorter-format cricket, Livingstone caught the attention of Stokes and McCullum with his eye-catching shots in white-ball cricket.

"It was a pretty simple conversation I had with him (Livingstone), actually before we went out to Australia for the World Cup," the England captain said.


"Obviously, I told him where we stood in terms of him playing some red-ball cricket out in the subcontinent.

"With the skill he has with the ball and the way he plays with the bat is very aligned with how me and Baz want to see the team play. He jumped at the opportunity.

"I don't necessarily think that not playing a red-ball game is going to be too much of a thing for him.

"He's a very natural cricketer, he's going to go out there and really express himself. So, yeah, looking forward to seeing him in the whites."

Then aged 22, Duckett played in the series against both Bangladesh and India that winter, averaging just 15.71, and has not played Test cricket for England since.

However, Duckett amassed over 1,000 runs in last season's County Championship Division Two at an average of 72.28.

When England toured Pakistan for seven T20 internationals in September and October - with the visitors winning 4-3 - Duckett finished as the second-highest run-scorer during the series, and Stokes backed him to succeed at the top of the order.

"Ducky showed out here in the T20s just how good he is against spin bowling," he said.

"To have someone at the top like him who can mess around with the fields and make it a captain's nightmare because he sweeps both ways, and we know how much of a part spin plays out in this area.

"[We are] excited to have him at the top."

Stokes announced on Monday he would be donating his match fees from the series to the Pakistan Floods Appeal, after at least 1,600 people were killed and millions left in need of aid following the natural disaster earlier this year.

"Coming here is a monumental time for English cricket and for Pakistan as a nation," he said when asked about the decision.

"There are bigger things to life than cricket. The floods were devastating to the country, and me coming out here and representing my country, bringing the sport back to the nation.

"There are things that go on in life that are bigger than sport and I felt compelled just to give something back that is bigger than cricket."

England XI for first Test v Pakistan: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Liam Livingstone, Jack Leach, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson.

SkyCricket
 
^ Hope they have a speedy recovery.

But he’s over estimating the amount of spin on offer here :))
 
England’s team selection shows how little they think of Pakistan’s batting & rightly so. Won’t be surprised if Livingstone ends up taking a 5 wicket haul.
 
Didn’t know Duckket was in the squad fully expect Pak to make him a superstar.. warners record (592 runs) in a 3 test match series is in danger !
 
look like england expecting rank turner pitch
england underestimating pakistan it's a great opportunity for pakistan to win
 
14 of the England squad are down with a vomiting bug. Might struggle to put XI on the field tomorrow.
 
the spokesperson of the England cricket team says that the players did not come to the ground due to viral infection.
 
What's going on? Majority of the players are staying in hotel. Moroccan chefs are also in Islamabad to supervise the food of the English cricket team.
 
Appears most of the England team got the 'runs' after the High Commission function. Should have stayed off the salads!
 
Babeikh said:
Appears most of the England team got the 'runs' after the High Commission function. Should have stayed off the salads!
Click to expand...

Could be - but they brought their own chef - didn't they?

British High Comm should have made sure food is good
 
The pitches will be key and I seriously hope they prepare turning pitches, otherwise playing safe again will mean defeat.

Line up:
1. Abdullah
2. Shan
3. Azhar
4. Babar
5. Saud
6. Rizwan (wk)
7. Faheem
8. Nawaz
9. Naseem
10. Abrar
11. Mohammad Ali
 
Anyone can tell whether the match will go on as prr schedule or not? I am travelling from another city to rawalpindi. Don't want to waste my time.
 
There is a possibility that the first test match between Pakistan and England will start one day late.

According to the sources, after the health of the players and others in the England squad got worse, talks are going on between Pakistan and the English Cricket Board to postpone the first Test match.

News Report
 
As per dawn, Policeman among three dead and 23 injured in suicide blast in Quetta.
Does it impact cricket?
 
The PCB and ECB are in discussions regarding the commencement of the 1st #PAKvENG Test as some England players are down with viral infection. The PCB continues to monitor the situation, is in contact with the ECB and will provide further updates in due course.
 
Surely England forfeit the Test if they cannot field an XI due to illness within the camp?
 
Rana said:
Surely England forfeit the Test if they cannot field an XI due to illness within the camp?
Click to expand...

Would not be very gentlemanly of Pakistan.

Up to England to make that call, I feel.
 
Talks over postponing the first Test between England and Pakistan by a day have been held after the tourists' squad was affected by an illness.

About 14 members of the party of players and coaches were advised to rest at the hotel on Wednesday, rather than attend training in Rawalpindi.

Thursday's match is England's first Test in Pakistan for 17 years.

England batter Joe Root said: "It's not the worst thing if we have to wait to make sure the game isn't cancelled."

The discussions between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have included the postponement as a worst-case scenario if it is felt the tourists will not be able to field a competitive side, which would have been the case had the Test been due to start on Wednesday.

A tweet from the PCB said: "The PCB and ECB are in discussions regarding the commencement of the first Test as some England players are down with viral infection. The PCB continues to monitor the situation, is in contact with the ECB and will provide further updates in due course."

A decision on when the match will go ahead could come as late as Thursday morning.

Speaking to BBC Sport, former captain Root said: "It's such a monumental tour and important series for so many reasons. We've waited 17 years to come to Pakistan to play a Test match. It means waiting another day, is that the worst thing in the world?

"We're all desperate to play this game and we know how important it is to the fans of Pakistan and their team as well."

The schedule of the tour is tight, with only three days between each of the three matches. If the first Test in Rawalpindi is delayed, it is thought the gap to the second Test in Multan, due to start on 9 December, would be cut to two days.

About half of the playing squad of 16 has been hit, including captain Ben Stokes. Only five took part in an optional training session on Wednesday.

"We don't think it's Covid or food-related. We're hoping it's just a 24-hour bug and everyone is fit and ready to go tomorrow," said Root.

Root said he had suffered symptoms on Tuesday, but felt well enough to train on Wednesday, along with fellow batters Zak Crawley, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope and Keaton Jennings. Head coach Brendon McCullum and batting coach Marcus Trescothick were also in attendance.

England named their XI for the first Test on Tuesday, with Lancashire all-rounder Liam Livingstone due to make his Test debut and opener Ben Duckett has been recalled to play his first Test in six years.

Livingstone was not at training on Wednesday but is not thought to be one of those ill.

England have not named an official vice-captain during Stokes' reign as skipper, though Pope led the team in Stokes' absence in a warm-up game against England Lions last week.

Root, 31, stood down as skipper in April after an England record 64 Tests in charge.

When asked if he would take the reins if Stokes was ruled out, Root said: "I don't think that's going to be the case.

"Last week Popey stood in and did a great job in the warm-up game. I think that might be the a better way for the group moving forward long term."

BBC
 
MenInG said:
Would not be very gentlemanly of Pakistan.

Up to England to make that call, I feel.
Click to expand...

It just sets a bad precedent if Test matches are delayed because of sickness/virus running through camps. Other boards can use it as an excuse to delay it for their own purposes. Need I remind, BCCI always uses examples as such to exploit for their own benefit which causes a lot of disturbance to the game.

I think England need to be honest and see what they would do if Pakistan or any other country had the same issue when they are hosts.
 
Joe Root:

"I don't think it's food poisoning or Covid or anything like that"

"As far as I'm aware, a few guys are not feeling 100 per cent"

"The thing is we have been carrying a chef away for a couple of years. If you look at the international teams, especially England, they all have their own chefs. We optimise ourselves and we see it from a nutrition point of view as well"

"It's hard to say as I have not seen anyone this morning. Guys are doing everything they can. They worked really hard for the games... so I guess time will tell."
 
Babar Azam:

"We are excited about that prospect of playing the WTC final"

"This is an important series. We have a golden chance to achieve that if we win four of the five Tests to come

"We got around a week to prepare for the series so that was great and has given us some edge and momentum. The best thing was that domestic first class matches were on so some of the players were already playing red ball cricket."

"Our bowling is good and will give a tough time to England"

"Naseem (Shah) has been bowling well and whatever England have been doing I have that confidence and the belief that they will give their best to give us wins."

"Yes, it's sad to know that but I am sure they will recover and we face a full strength England team in the Test."
 
There is no way the PCB should settle for a draw or Test abandoned if England can’t field a side in the next 24-48 hours

I still cannot understand why the 2006 Oval Test was ruled as a draw and not Pakistan win because of the clear discrimination by Umpires Darryl Hair and Billy Doctrove.
 
Delaying game by 1 day is fair enough, but it it was called off would be a shambles.
 
MenInG said:
Babar Azam:

"We are excited about that prospect of playing the WTC final"

"This is an important series. We have a golden chance to achieve that if we win four of the five Tests to come

"We got around a week to prepare for the series so that was great and has given us some edge and momentum. The best thing was that domestic first class matches were on so some of the players were already playing red ball cricket."

"Our bowling is good and will give a tough time to England"

"Naseem (Shah) has been bowling well and whatever England have been doing I have that confidence and the belief that they will give their best to give us wins."

"Yes, it's sad to know that but I am sure they will recover and we face a full strength England team in the Test."
Click to expand...

If Babar was that excited by WTC then why play both Aussie and SL series in such negative and cowardly fashion.
 
Amjid Javed said:
If Babar was that excited by WTC then why play both Aussie and SL series in such negative and cowardly fashion.
Click to expand...

Although Babar isnt very creative, imaginative and lacks vision,

He still keeps landing in positions where he can obtain ultimate glory if he plays his cards right. Weirdly blessed for some reason
 
Discussions have taken place over postponing the first Test between England and Pakistan by a day after a number of the touring party were struck down by an illness.

The England and Wales Cricket Board and Pakistan Cricket Board have been in talks, although a decision is not expected until Thursday morning as the players continue to be monitored.

Captain Ben Stokes is among those impacted and it is believed to be a bug or virus rather than Covid, with England making their final training session ahead of the Test match on Wednesday morning optional.

Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope and Joe Root reported for the practice session at the stadium in Rawalpindi - taken by head coach Brendon McCullum - with the rest remaining at their Islamabad base. Root experienced symptoms on Tuesday but has since recovered.

Thursday's Test is England's first in Pakistan in 17 years.

Root told Sky Sports: "I wasn't feeling great [on Tuesday] but woke up better this morning, so hopefully it is just a 24-hour thing. I have not managed to see many of the guys so we will see how everyone is travelling when we get back to the hotel.

"We have tried really hard to do all the right things in making sure we are ready and prepared for this game but sometimes life throws these things at you. We will try to make sure we are as ready as we can be."

On a possible postponement, the former England captain told the BBC: "Who knows what will happen? Whether there would be the possibility to delay it by a day, I don't know.

"It's such a monumental tour and important series for so many reasons. We've waited 17 years to come to Pakistan to play a Test match, if it means waiting another day, is it the worst thing in the world?

"We're all desperate to play this game and we know how important it is to the fans of Pakistan and their team as well.

"I don't think it's necessarily the worst thing in the world if we have to wait one more day to make sure the game isn't cancelled and everyone gets what they want, which is an exciting three-match series."

Liam Livingstone - who is set to make his Test debut in Rawalpindi - told Sky Sports News: "It was weird [on Tuesday], one by one the lads just sort of went, 'I don't feel too good' and went back to their room.

"I have been fine, touch wood. It's obviously not nice and I don't know what's going to happen but hopefully the lads can get over it. I think a good sign is that they are back eating."

Sky Sports Cricket's Nasser Hussain said: "They say it's a 24-hour bug so hopefully the side that was named will be the side that takes the field. I would be very surprised if it was so bad in the camp that they can't put a team out.

"It is part of touring, you have to take the medication, roll your sleeves up, get out there and do the best you can.

"The one good thing is that it's not too hot. If you have the lurgy you feel a bit drained so 22 degrees, autumnal conditions, in Rawalpindi will be a little bit easier on anyone who has had the bug."

SKY
 
Tickets for day 3 and 4 are sold out and only 2k or so tickets left for days 1 and 2.

Imagine a bit of a logistical nightmare if the test is delayed by a day. Hope they can get it on.
 
Sounds like they are delaying the decision until tomorrow which is a complete farce. Just delay it by a day if you can't be sure - people will have taken days off work etc.
 
PCB-ECB statement on 1st Test commencement

Rawalpindi, 30 November 2022:

The Pakistan Cricket Board and England and Wales Cricket Board today discussed the outbreak of viral infection in the England men’s Test team camp and unanimously agreed to delay the decision on the commencement of the first Test, which is due to start on Thursday, until 0730 Pakistan time tomorrow (Thursday).

The two boards made the decision based on medical advice from the England doctors, which revolved around the players’ health and welfare, agreeing that the England cricket team are able to select an XI for the first of the three ICC World Test Championship matches, which will be played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

The two boards also agreed, subject to the England players not recovering well enough to take the field on Thursday morning, then the Test will commence on Friday and will be a five-day match. In this scenario, the schedule of the second Test in Multan and the third Test in Karachi will remain unaffected and will be played as per original schedule i.e. 9-13 and 17-21 December, respectively.

Further information for the ticket-buyers will be shared on Thursday morning.
 
I don’t think it is the food. They brought their own chef because they don’t want anything to do with Pakistani food after their unsatisfactory experience during the T20 series.
 
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Mamoon said:
I don’t think it is the food. They brought their own chef because they don’t want anything to do with Pakistani food after their unsatisfactory experience during the T20 series.
Click to expand...

It's the water.

English players indulged in too much in one or more of the following:

- Chaat
- Dahi bhalla
- Mango lassi
- Or any other non-bottled beverage with water/ice cubes

If you avoid the above, there's no chance of getting food poisoning in Pakistan if the food is well cooked and you rely on bottled water instead of tap water.
 
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It's about time we move on Azhar but he should be allowed to get to 100 tests. My XI would be:

1) Shafique
2) Imam
3) Azhar
4) Babar
5) Rizwan
6) Agha
7) Nawaz
8) Abrar/Mehmood
9) Wasim
10) Rauf
11) Naseem

The pitch seems dead and England's bowling is weak so we should go in with 6 bowling options.
 
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Why not make it a 4 day contest so Bazball will be more relevant but it will hurt already strapped PCB,

Eng are in for a fun and Livingstone @8 is an insult to opposition hopefully Pakistan will turn up
 
A bit tough on the fans this to leave the decision so late.

Imagine people who have taken a day off work to go to the stadium only to find out there will be no play.

Wouldn't it have just been better to start on Friday.
 
Kriketer said:
Despite the usual dull looking grass and terrible concrete slabs and shaadi chairs, one thing about Pindi stadium is that it tends to get the most crowd for Test cricket consistently for 5 days compared to all other venues for Test in Pakistan. I don't ever recall complete empty stands in this stadium. I am positive crowd will show up, and knowing its England which played T20 final will have added pull.

Really poor from PCB that passion of Pindi crowd is served with concrete, shaadi chairs and no shades. PCB had all the time in the world to atleast install plastic chairs, I mean they made over $10M in profit from Australia series so they could have spent marginal of that revenue to upgrade this ground. We have a lot of cricket coming up in Pakistan and we barely have a few stadiums, how PCB doesn't spend to upgrade stadiums is absolutely shameful. Karachi roof is the only upgrade they have made in ages.

Enough of my complains, looking forward to a good contest and a decent pitch hopefully.
Click to expand...

Shadi chairs are more comfortable than plastic chairs due to foam underneath and extra back support. Just saying as I've sat on both of them :D
 
Mamoon said:
I don’t think it is the food. They brought their own chef because they don’t want anything to do with Pakistani food after their unsatisfactory experience during the T20 series.
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They brought their own chef but not groceries.
 
Saj said:
A bit tough on the fans this to leave the decision so late.

Imagine people who have taken a day off work to go to the stadium only to find out there will be no play.

Wouldn't it have just been better to start on Friday.
Click to expand...

Thursday works perfect because tests hardly go to the 5th day these days, so day 2,3,4 the core days are on the weekend. Have seen this kind of scheduling for many tests if I remember correctly.
 
Mamoon said:
I don’t think it is the food. They brought their own chef because they don’t want anything to do with Pakistani food after their unsatisfactory experience during the T20 series.
Click to expand...

Is it clear if it’s a stomach bug or flu? I only see “virus” in most reports and clarification that it’s not Covid
 
Imagine waking up at 4:00 and they decide to not play because England players have called in sick
 
I think they will go with this xi

Abdullah
Imaam
Azhar
Babar
Saud
Rizwan
Fahim
Nawaz
Abrar
Naseem
Ali
 
Possible line up taking Pak's typical conservative approach:

Shafique
Imam
Azhar
Babar
Riz
Agha
Faheem
Nawaz
Wasim
Harris
Naseen
 
Local.Dada said:
Is it clear if it’s a stomach bug or flu? I only see “virus” in most reports and clarification that it’s not Covid
Click to expand...

Read somewhere it's mostly due to English players not taking the cold in Pindi seriously and hence caught flu related viral infection. Sounds bogus as a number of them can't catch such viral infection at once. I feel it could be due to their own chefs carrying dated frozen meat or something, or who knows they may have went out for gool gappa theela at the corner street :)
 
Pakistan picked Zahid over Abrar. Does anyone have a explanation cause really don't understand why?
 
Damn 4 debuts in a test game by pakistan. Is this the most by pakistan in number of debuts?
 
Picking Zahid Mehmood over Abrar is just madness. I don't think the coach and captain have been keeping up with QeA Trophy cricket. Only that can explain why they left Abrar out.
 
AAli98 said:
Didn’t know Duckket was in the squad fully expect Pak to make him a superstar.. warners record (592 runs) in a 3 test match series is in danger !
Click to expand...

Even Bangladesh know how to make use of home pitches India produce dustbowls from over 1

Pak don’t even know what there standard home test match pitch should be.. just hope for a bit of reverse & hope for the best !!
 
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