Ben Stokes sits out first Pakistan test as England struggle on Day One
England Test Captain Ben Stokes is to miss the first match against Pakistan as he recovers from injury. His side have made a poor start to the first test in Multan, however.
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00:00England test captain Ben Stokes has said he wasn't quite game ready, as it was confirmed
00:07he would miss the first match against Pakistan in Multan. Stokes has not played cricket since
00:11August when he went off injured in a Northern Superchargers fixture in the 100. Vice-captain
00:16Ollie Pope will skip at the side, as he did briefly in the summer, and hope to get England
00:21off to the best possible start against a side they whitewashed 3-0 in their last tour of
00:25Pakistan in 2022. England, however, have not made the best start at all, only taking
00:31four wickets on day one, and conceding centuries to Abdullah Shafiq and Shan Masood, as Pakistan
00:37reached a total of 328 at the close of play. England will look for improvements on day
00:41two, while Stokes will aim to be fit for the second test, which is also in Multan. He made
00:47clear that he is not sure whether this is a realistic target, but that he is working
00:51hard to be fit in time for the match, which begins on the 15th of October.