England unchanged for first Test against Pakistan
England named an unchanged XI for the first Test against Pakistan, with uncertainty over Ben Stokes’ fitness meaning Zak Crawley missed out once again.
Stokes has been battling back from a quad injury and will not be asked to take up his share of bowling duties despite a lengthy workout in the middle, playing predominantly as a specialist batsman.
That means a pace bowling quartet of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer is retained, leaving Sam Curran and Mark Wood on the sidelines.
We will bowl first in the first #raisethebat Test against Pakistan! 🏴🇵🇰#ENGvPAK
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 5, 2020
Pakistan captain Azhar Ali won the toss and opted to bat first, though England will take some encouragement from the dark clouds and early use of the floodlights.
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