England have included three spinners in their team for their third and final Test match against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, with Rehan Ahmed being recalled, the England and Wales cricket board (ECB) said yesterday.
England won the first Test by an innings and 47 runs, before Pakistan levelled the series with a 152-run victory in Multan on a surface that offered plenty of turn – with spin duo Noman Ali and Sajid Khan taking all 20 wickets.
Pakistan are expected to create a similar pitch for the final Test match and Ahmed will feature alongside fellow spinners Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach, while fast bowler Gus Atkinson was also brought in.
“We know it’s probably not going to swing and seam and do all sorts in the first session, so we look at the pitch and work out what the best team is going to be,” England batter Harry Brook told the BBC.
Ahmed, 20, played his first Test match in 2022 during England’s tour of Pakistan, taking a five-wicket haul on his debut as the visitors completed a 3-0 sweep of the series.
“He’s an outstanding cricketer. It’s not just his bowling, but his batting and fielding,” Brook said.
“He’s a young lad so he has a lot of time to come,” Brook said.
“He got five-for in the last Test here, so hopefully he can do that again.”
England quicks Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts miss out.
England team: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.
Afghanistan include uncapped
Atal for Bangladesh ODIsAfghanistan selectors yesterday named prolific opener Sediqullah Atal in their 19-man squad for next month’s three-match one-day international series against Bangladesh in Sharjah.
Atal, 23, has previously played six Twenty20 internationals for Afghanistan and earned his maiden call for the ODIs after scoring consistently in the ongoing Emerging Asia Cup in Oman.
Besides Atal, left-arm spinner Noor Ahmad also staged a comeback after missing Afghanistan’s 2-1 series win over South Africa, also in Sharjah last month.
Afghanistan Cricket Board chief selector Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil described Atal as a future player.
“We have included a promising top-order batter in Sediqullah Atal, who has impressed everyone with his consistent top performances,” Sulimankhil is quoted in Afghanistan Cricket Board release. Atal has scores of 52, 95 not out and 83 in the Emerging Asia Cup. The three matches are scheduled for November 6, 9 and 11.
The series will help Afghanistan prepare for the eight-nation Champions Trophy to be held in Pakistan from February to March next year.
Squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ikram Alikhil, Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran, Farid Ahmad Malik