England win toss and decide to bat in first Test against Pakistan

Picture source - twitter @TheRealPCB

England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to bat against Pakistan in the first test on Thursday.

The touring team changed one player from their earlier lineup, adding all-rounder Liam Livingstone and Will Jacks in place of Ben Foakes, who made his test debut.

Stokes remarked after flipping the coin, “We’ve had some illness going around, but we were thrilled to get started.”

“The way we started our tour has not been ideal, but maybe everything will work out.”

Pakistan named four debutants in their playing 11 including Saud Shakeel, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Ali, and Zahid Mehmood.

This will be England’s first test visit to Pakistan since 2005, and they will also play at Multan and Karachi.

Earlier, ECB (England Cricket Board) informed the PCB that they are in a position to play proper 11 and the first test match will start as scheduled at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.