Ben Stokes On Bowling More In Third Test Vs Pak: England Cricket Team Test captain Ben Stokes believes that he will be able to contribute more with the ball in his team’s upcoming series-deciding third Test match against Pakistan.
Stokes made a return to the national team in the second Test against the Men in Green. He injured his hamstring earlier this year while playing for the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred. In his absence, batter Ollie Pope had been captaining the side in his absence, including in the first Test of the series England won by an inning and 47 runs.
Stokes returned to the side for the second Pakistan vs England Test. However, the all-rounder did not bowl too much, only bowling five overs in each inning in the three Lions’ 152-run defeat at Multan.
With the tracks becoming much more spin-friendly following Pakistan’s humiliating defeat in the first Test, England is forced to play an extra spinner as Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir, and Joe Root bowled in the second Test.
Ben Stokes On Bowling More In Third Test Vs Pak
Speaking about his role in the team heading into the third Test, Ben Stokes opened up about how he sees himself bowling a little more for England in the third Test. He had this to say to the media,
“It was good to get through it. I have put myself through my paces at training, bowled two spells. Coming in and being one of only two seamers, I’m fully confident that I’ll be able to get more out of myself this week than I did last week.”
Stokes also discussed the inclusion of Rehan Ahmed into the squad. Seeing how the pitch in Rawalpindi is expected to spin, England has added a third specialist spinner to their side. The skipper praised his leg-spinner.
“Leg-spinners have an amazing ability to break a game open. Having his batting ability lower down the order is also a massive bonus. The way Leach and Bashir have bowled has been fantastic in these first two Tests. Adding Rehan’s free spirit and desperation to change the game every time he’s got the ball in his hand is a massive bonus for us this week,” said Stokes.
Finally, the all-rounder revealed that he and his side have some clue as to how Pakistan plans to make and use the pitch for the third Test. He said,
“I’ve never been a groundsman, but you’d think a rake would assist the spin. We can have a good guess which ends the Pakistan spinners will operate from. There’s not too much grass to hold everything together. It will be interesting to see how it goes. It will be a pretty good wicket for the first couple of days, at least.”
The England Cricket Team will face Pakistan in the third and final Test of the series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from October 24 to 28. Having won one match each, the result of this game will decide the series.
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