Summary England won the toss and opted to bowl first against Pakistan at Headingley, where Azan Awais fell on the first ball and Shan Masood was dismissed for five.
LEEDS (Dunya News) – England won the toss and elected to bowl first against Pakistan in the opening Test at Headingley, with Pakistan losing two early wickets after Azan Awais was dismissed off the first ball and Shan Masood fell for five runs.
Pakistan are playing the Test without regular captain Babar Azam, who is unavailable due to injury. Salman Ali Agha is leading the national side in his absence.
England captain Joe Root said at the toss that the team expected to benefit from the overcast conditions, while some moisture on the pitch could also assist the bowlers in the early stages of the match.
Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said his side would also have preferred to bat first. He said Pakistan had been playing red-ball cricket for quite some time, adding that the team had played a series in the West Indies before coming to England and that the players had also trained at a red-ball camp for a month.
Pakistan’s final XI for the Test includes Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood, Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Abbas. Azan Awais, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali and Ali Usman are also part of the national side, alongside captain Salman Ali Agha.
England opted to bowl first after winning the toss, with Root expecting the conditions at Headingley to provide early assistance to the bowling attack.
