Pakistan opt to bat against England

MANCHESTER: Pakistan has won the toss and elected to bat first after winning the toss against England in the first Test of the three-Test series at the Old Trafford.

The match will start at 03:00 pm Pakistan Standard Time. While addressing to the media conference, team captain Azhar Ali has expressed his satisfaction with his team’s preparation for the first Test.

“The series against England is always important”, Azhar Ali said. He also expressed high hopes from his pace attack comprising Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi Mohammad Abbas, and Sohail Khan.

Read more: England’s inexperienced batting may advantage Pakistan: Ramiz Raja

Azhar also assured that he is confident that his batting line-up will perform in English conditions despite the challenge of overcoming a formidable English bowling attack that will operate with the Dukes ball.

Pakistan’s players:

Azhar Ali (c), Babar Azam (vc), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah. 

England players: 

England Team: 1 Dom Sibley, 2 Rory Burns, 3 Joe Root (capt), 4 Ben Stokes, 5 Ollie Pope, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Dom Bess, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 James Anderson