Pakistan win toss, bat against England in first Test
Azhar Ali said we can't control the weather but we are clear in our heads.
MANCHESTER (Dunya News) – Pakistan won the toss in the first Test match against England in the three-match series and decided to bat first at the Old Trafford, Manchester, Dunya News reported on Wednesday.
Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali said, “We can’t control the weather but we are clear in our heads. We are going with two spinner and three seamers, with Shadab as an allrounder.
“If you come to England you want to bowl fuller and make the batsmen play. We have bowlers who can hit the seam. We are thankful to ECB for the facilities they have given us and we are ready to go.
“You can’t replace Test match cricket with practice games, but we have prepared well and are looking forward to the contest. We love playing in England and we are missing the crowd, we get a lot of support here, but hopefully we can entertain them at home.”
England captain Joe Root said, “We’ve tried to make the most of the practice days, we’ve come in unchanged, we’d probably have batted first. Ben is not quite 100% fit and it’s too big a risk, but his runs have been invaluable and he’s a huge part of the dressing room.”
“The guys have got to stand up and perform. We’re aware of it [first Test record]. We’ll do everything we can to get ahead in the series.”
TEAMS
Pakistan: Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali (c), Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Yasir Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah
Pakistan win the toss and elect to bat first. #ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/bHu8uc9344
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 5, 2020
England: Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (wk), Chris Woakes, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer, James Anderson
