RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (Reuters) – England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bat against Pakistan in the deciding third and final test in Rawalpindi on Thursday.
With the series level at 1-1, both teams went into the match with a lone seamer in what is expected to be a spin-friendly pitch at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
England have brought in Rehan Ahmed as a third spinner, while Gus Atkinson was recalled as the tourists continued to rotate their pacers.
“We’ll have to wait and see until a bit of cricket and some traffic has gone over it,” Stokes said at the toss.
“But it looks a really good wicket.
“It’s another challenge we’re presented with and we’ll wait and see.”
Pakistan have fielded the same 11 who secured the series-levelling victory in the second test in Multan.
Pakistan captain Shan Masood was reluctant to make a prediction about the pitch.
“The important thing is to see the situation, see what you’re under and respond,” he said.
“The preparation has been a bit different, until both teams have batted we’ll keep our opinions to ourself.”
Teams:
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Jack Leach, Shaoib Bashir
Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood (captain), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Muhammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Salman Agha, Aamer Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Peter Rutherford)
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