England captain Ben Stokes expressed confidence in taking on a larger bowling role in the third and final Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, starting October 24. Stokes had missed four Tests due to a hamstring injury sustained during the 2024 Hundred but returned for the second Test, where he bowled five overs in each innings of England’s 152-run loss.
With Pakistan thriving on a spin-friendly pitch in the second Test, it appears a similar surface will be available for the decider. This has led England to include three specialist spinners in their XI, leaving Gus Atkinson and Stokes as the only pace options.
Two days before the final Test, Stokes spoke to the media and was quoted by the BBC saying:
“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.”
After using Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach as spin options in the first Test, England brought in leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed for the final match. Stokes praised Rehan’s contributions to the team, stating:
“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.”
Rehan has participated in four Tests for England, the most recent being during the tour of India earlier this year.
“I’ve never been a groundsman, but you would think a rake would help with the spin”- Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes believed the Rawalpindi pitch for the series decider had been raked to create a turning wicket, but he had no complaints about it.
Prior to the second Test at Multan, Pakistan had not won a home Test since February 2021. On a spin-friendly surface, the spin pairing of Noman Ali and Sajid Khan took all 20 wickets, marking the first time since 1972 that two bowlers claimed every wicket in a match.
“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,” Stokes said in the same interaction.
Under Stokes, England has lost only one Test series—against India earlier this year—and they won 3-0 during their previous tour of Pakistan in 2022.
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