After a scintillating comeback series win over West Indies, England will hope to continue in the same vein of form and get 1-0 up over Pakistan when the two teams come out to play the first Test on Wednesday. Pakistan look like a stronger challenge as compared to West Indies, especially with the likes of Younis Khan and Misbah ul-Haq in their coaching department. Pakistan’s batting line -up comprising of captain Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq and Abid Ali looks solid. The bowling department with Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi also seems to be packing a punch.
England, too, seems to have grown in strength in the past two three games and with Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes in form, the side looks unbeatable. Ollie Pope is a bright addition to the team’s line-up, but skipper Joe Root will hope he can find some form with the bat.
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On papers, it promises to be a cracker of a contest. But here is the big question – will rain play a role in another Test in Manchester? Well, not really, it seems.
According to Accuweather, there are a couple of passing showers expected early morning on Wednesday in Manchester, but the rest of the day is expected to remain sunny. If the passing showers do not wet the outfield too much, we could see an entire full day’s play on the first day of the first Test.
A period of shower is also expected on Thursday, but most of the day is expected to be sunny. The next three days are expected to be warm with clouds and sun, but no rain is expected.
It might mean that weather may not play a large enough role in the first Test between England and Pakistan, and we could in fact see a full day’s play. This is the best news for cricketing fans who will be eager to see how Pakistan return to international cricket after an unexpected break.