Here is the kicker – Ben Stokes is out of contention for the remaining two Tests. England triumphed in Manchester in the first Test against Pakistan despite an insipid start to the game. Pakistan were all over England by the end of the first innings, taking a massive 107-run lead. But a batting collapse, and heroic innings from Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler led to Pakistan’s demise and England took a 1-0 lead in the three match series.
Going into the 2nd Test at The Rose Bowl in Southampton, Pakistan will have everything to play, knowing only a win will bring in a chance for them to win the series. A loss would mean England would be declared the winners and the third and final Test will be a mere formality.
A draw would mean that Pakistan will not have a chance to win the series, and that is a result the visitors are not looking for either. With that in mind, one can expect both the teams to make strategical changes.
It was primarily Pakistan’s batting line-up that let them down in the first Test and the fans can expect a few changes in there. England, keeping in mind that Stokes is not there, would be eager to bring a batsman into the team, and following that rotational policy among bowlers, one could expect another change in there as well.
England Predicted XI
Zak Crawley is a talented batsman, there is no doubts on that front. But now the right-hander will have to fill in the gaps of Ben Stokes in the team. Talk about pressure. It is a clear cut change in the team – Crawley replaces Stokes at no. 4 position.
One can also expect James Anderson to be rested from the 2nd Test after his insipid show in Manchester. Anderson, is likely to be replaced by Sam Curran, who can also provide an additional batting option lower down the order for England, and will help the hosts in filling the gaps left by Stokes.
England Predicted XI: Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Joe Root (c), Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Dominic Bess, Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad
Pakistan Predicted XI:
Pakistan’s batsmen need to do much more if they want to beat England in their own country. All the batsmen need to soak in the pressure, and fire on all cylinders. In order to do that, skipper Azhar Ali might bring in an experienced customer in the team Fawad Alam, who can bring in more stability in the middle-order, in case the top-order struggles
Asad Shafiq, who scored just 35 runs in 2 innings in the first Test, is likely going to make way for Fawad to be included in the team.
Pakistan Predicted XI: Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali (c), Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shadab Khan, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah