England win toss, bat in third Pakistan Test
England win toss, bat in third Pakistan Test.
SOUTHAMPTON (Dunya News) – England have won the toss in the third Pakistan Test and decided to bat first at the Ross Bowl, Southampton on Friday, Dunya News reported.
England captain Joe Root said: “It looks a bit drier than the previous wicket, so we want to try and make most use of it first and exploit that later in the game.” England have replaced Sam Curran with Jofra Archer. “We want him [Archer] to operate in short, sharp spells, and bowl fast,” Root said.
Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali said: “We wanted to bat too. It looks a very good track. We’ll try to pick up early wickets and utilize the conditions. It’s a very important game, must-win for us.” Pakistan have made no changes in the team.
SQUADS
England: Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, Joe Root (capt), Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (wk), Chris Woakes, Dom Bess, Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, James Anderson
Pakistan: Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali (capt), Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Yasir Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah
Pakistan head into the final Test facing a first series defeat against England in 10 years as the tourists are 1-0 down in a three-match campaign after a three-wicket defeat in the first Test at Old Trafford.
Neither side had a chance of victory in the second match blighted by bad weather at Southampton.
