ENG vs PAK: Test series – Five players to watch out for
Pakistan will be hosting England in the Test series starting from December 1. Both teams clashed in the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup this month where England came victorious. They also beat Pakistan in a seven-match T20I series prior to the World Cup and are favourites to win this series as well. So, let’s take a look at five players to watch out for in this historic series.
- Liam Livingstone
The 29-year-old batting all-rounder was a surprise name when the management announced the squad for this series. Livingstone has played 41 white-ball internationals and is established as one of the best big-hitters in the world, a trait not required for Test cricket. He has scored 3069 runs from 62 First Class matches at an average of 38.36 and will be making his debut in Test cricket in this series.
- Mark Wood
The English speedster made a sensational return from his long-term injury prior to the 2022 T20 World Cup. He last played Test cricket in March 2022 and has taken 82 wickets from 26 matches at a decent average of 31.91. Wood has taken 18 wickets from his last eight innings and it will be interesting to see if he continues that momentum in red-ball cricket.
- Rehan Ahmed
The 18-year-old Leicestershire bowling all-rounder is included in England squad and could become the youngest-ever English cricketer to play a Test match. The highly-rated youngster has played only three First Class games where he has taken nine wickets and has scored a century.
- Abrar Ahmed
The young Sindh leg-spinner is in line to make his international debut alongside Mohammad Ali. Abrar has performed consistently in domestic cricket and is leading the wickets chart in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam tournament with 43 wickets at an average of 21.95. He has taken 76 wickets from just 14 First Class matches at an average of 25.56 and 17 wickets from 11 List A games so far.
- Babar Azam
Pakistani captain has come under a lot of pressure after his poor performances in the recently lost T20 World Cup 2022 tournament. Babar scored the highest 271 runs from two matches against Sri Lanka in the last Test series with the help of one century and two fifties and now will be desperate to shut his recent critics in this series.
