England announce playing XI for 2nd Test against Pakistan; Ben Stokes returns to lead the side 

England have named the playing XI for the upcoming second Test against Pakistan, beginning from Tuesday, October 15, in Multan. All-rounder Ben Stokes has recovered from his injury and will lead the team after missing the last four matches, where Ollie Pope led the side.

Stokes replaces Chris Woakes in the side, while fellow seamer Gus Atkinson has also been rested. Seamer Matthew Potts has been named as the replacement to join Brydon Carse in the pace bowling department.

The England captain sustained the injury while playing for the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred 2024. He was expected to miss the rest of the English home season, which included the three-match series against Sri Lanka. Despite being named in the squad for the Pakistan tour, he failed to recover in time for the series opener in Multan.

The in-form batting unit which collectively slammed over 800 runs in the first Test remains unchanged. Ben Duckett dislocated his thumb while taking a catch at the end of the first innings, forcing him to bat at No.4. The injury is not deemed serious enough for him to be rested as he retains his place at the top of the order.

Ollie Pope would be on the lookout to be back among the runs now that he is not leading the side anymore. The right-hander struggled with runs while leading the side, with a ton at the Oval in the third Test against Sri Lanka being the sole noteworthy score of late.

The spin department comprises of Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach, while Joe Root is available to chip in with the ball, if required. Early reports suggest that the same strip used for the first Test will be used in the upcoming Test, with instructions set for the curators to make it a turning surface.

England playing XI for second Test against Pakistan

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, ⁠Ollie Pope, Joe Root, ⁠Harry Brook,⁠ ⁠Ben Stokes (C), ⁠Jamie Smith, ⁠Brydon Carse, ⁠Matt Potts, ⁠Jack Leach, and Shoaib Bashir.

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England have a 1-0 lead in the three-match series

England attained an early series lead after their historic effort in the first Test. The visitors scored 823/7 declared against Pakistan's first innings score of 556, and then managed to bundle out the Men in Green in just 54.5 overs to record a win by an innings and 47 runs.

Harry Brook had recorded a mammoth triple hundred, while Root notched his career-high score with a double hundred. The duo also put on the highest partnership of all time for the fourth wicket in Tests.

Following the humbling loss, Pakistan have made some radical changes for the remainder of the series. Key players like Shaheen Afridi, Babar Azam, and Naseem Shah have been dropped for the second and third Tests.