After their shocking defeat, England’s captain and master batsman Alastair Cook revealed that his team had ringed the changes with their line-up. Steven Finn and Jake Ball have both been dropped, while there are returns for James Anderson, who is England’s all-time wicket taker, and all-rounder Ben Stokes.
Pakistan will, again, be able to rely upon bowler Yasir Shah to skittle England’s batting stars out. The leg-spinner finished the first Test with impressive figures of 10-141, and has taken a staggering 86 wickets in his first 13 Tests. He’s already being labeled the best since Australian cricket legend Shane Warne, which is some compliment!
Alastair has already admitted his team weren’t up to par in the first Test, and has called on his troops to rectify things. He also answered complaints about team selection in a press conference on July 21. “We didn’t play the greatest game of cricket at Lord’s,” Alastair divulged. “So then people then start jumping on things which were less important [such as selection]. It’s been a bit of a sideshow.”
He continued, “If we’d played really good cricket, and won – the 11 guys picked were certainly capable of that – then that story wouldn’t be blown up like it has been. It’s happened. It was a slightly messy affair – no one intended it to be like that – and we’ve got to move on, and play better cricket.”
can England get back into the series and level the Test at 1-1? Or will Pakistan open up a 2-0 lead? Tell us who you think will win below!
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