Following his recovery from a hamstring injury, Captain Ben Stokes was selected for the England squad for the second Test match against Pakistan, which begins in Multan on Tuesday. After sustaining the injury two months ago, Stokes was unable to play in the first Test match last week, which the visitors won by an innings, or the three-match home series against Sri Lanka. Also making his first appearance since the Lord's Test match against Sri Lanka at the end of August is Durham seamer Matthew Potts. Gus Atkinson and Chris Woakes, two seamers, are taking a break.
The talismanic all-rounder Stokes, who has been bowling in the nets since before the first Test, stressed on Monday after being deemed fit that it must be reasonable.
"I am playing as a third seamer, of course.
There won't be any concerns about my capacity to bowl when I feel the timing is appropriate for me to possibly come on and make an impact.
"Those were the sort of thoughts that went through my head at home before we came out," the 33-year-old captain said when asked if he could have played as a batter solely.
When I didn't bowl, I had put down a couple teams, but it didn't work. Ollie Pope led the team in Stokes' absence as England won the first Test, also played in Multan, on Friday by an innings and 47 runs.
Harry Brook's outstanding 317 and Joe Root's 262 helped England win in a spectacular fashion. After scoring more than 550 runs in their opening play, Pakistan became the first team in the 147-year history of Test cricket to lose by an innings.
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