England opt to bat with three spinners in XI; Pakistan unchanged

Toss England chose to bat vs Pakistan

England won their first toss in eight attempts and opted to bat against Pakistan in the deciding third Test in Rawalpindi.

After winning the second Test to square the series in Multan on the same surface that England took 1-0 ahead in the opener, the hosts have done everything in their power to ensure this pitch has similar spinning characteristics. A combination of industrial fans and heaters – even rakes – have given a usually flat surface a more abrasive look, as Pakistan sought to mimic their success last week. As such, Ben Stokes calling correctly and having first use has levelled what is otherwise a lush playing field.

“At the moment, it looks a really good wicket,” Stokes said at the toss, “but it’s another challenge we are presented with”. Pakistan captain Shan Masood concurred.

With pitch conditions clear well in advance, both teams arrived on Wednesday having already named their XIs. Pakistan are unchanged, with Sajid Khan and Noman Ali set to resume the lion’s share of the graft with the ball after bowling more than 87% of their overs across both innings of the second Test for all 20 wickets. England, meanwhile, have bolstered their spin stocks.

Legspinner Rehan Ahmed makes his first international appearance since February as one of three spinners for the tourists, along with part-timer Joe Root. Rehan, who played three Tests in India at the start of the year, is looking to replicate his exploits in the final Test of the 2022 tour here, when he took a maiden five-wicket haul in the second innings on debut in Karachi, which capped off a 3-0 win.

Gus Atkinson returns after sitting out the second Test as the sole out-and-out seamer, alongside Stokes who bowled just five overs upon his return from a hamstring tear last week. Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse are the two players making way – rested rather than dropped.

Since 2019, Rawalpindi has been one of the best venues for batting, something England used to their advantage two years ago when scoring 657 in their first innings at a remarkable 6.51 runs an over, with 506 struck on the opening day of that first Test.

Repeating that success on a markedly different track will be a tougher ask this time around. Pakistan, meanwhile, will be angling for a first home series win since 2021 against South Africa, six series ago.

Pakistan 1 Saim Ayub, 2 Abdullah Shafique, 3 Shan Masood (capt), 4 Kamran Ghulam, 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Salman Agha, 8 Aamer Jamal, 9 Sajid Khan, 10 Noman Ali, 11 Zahid Mehmood

England 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Rehan Ahmed, 10 Jack Leach, 11 Shoaib Bashir

Vithushan Ehantharajah is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo