England name unchanged 14-member squad for final Pakistan Test
England have named an unchanged 14-man squad for the series-deciding third and final Test of the three-match series against Pakistan, beginning Friday at the Rose Bowl Cricket Ground in Southampton.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) took to its official Twitter handle to confirm that England will go into the upcoming Test against Pakistan with the same side that settled for a draw in the second match at the same venue on August 17.
“England have named an unchanged 14-man squad for the third #ENGvPAK Test,” the world’s cricket governing body tweeted.
England headed into the second Test without the extra pace offered by the rested fast bowlers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood. Notably, Wood was given rest of an extra week in order to recover fully from a niggle.
England are currently leading the Test series 1-0 after winning the opening Test against Pakistan by three wickets at Old Trafford in Manchester. The second Test between the two sides ended in a draw after only two innings were possible across five days due to rain and bad weather.
Heading into the final Test, the host will look to replicate a similar kind of performance as they displayed in the opening match and clinch the series by 2-0.
Pakistan,on the other hand, will eye to rebound strongly and come up with a solid performance with both bat and bowl and settle for 1-1 draw.
After more than three days of the second Test were lost due to rain and bad weather, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) have agreed to revised play timings for third Test to accomodate for poor weather.
The flexible approach will enable the prospect of making up time for inclement weather during the first session of subsequent days rather than at the end of the day.
The full squad for third Pakistan Test is as folows:
Joe Root (captain), James Anderson, Jofra Arcger, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Som Sibley, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.