England recall Mark Wood with Ollie Pope to keep wicket again in second Test against Pakistan | Cricket News

England have made one change for the second Test against Pakistan in Multan, with Mark Wood replacing the injured Liam Livingstone.

That means Ollie Pope will keep wicket again with Ben Foakes sitting out and Will Jacks retaining his place in the side.

Wood missed the first Test, which England won by 74 runs in Rawalpindi, with a hip injury he suffered during the T20 World Cup.

The fast bowler returns as a replacement for Livingstone, who suffered a knee injury during the first Test and will miss the rest of the tour.

Wood will join the pace attack alongside Ben Stokes, James Anderson and Ollie Robinson, while Jacks and Joe Root will provide back-up to frontline spinner Jack Leach

The 32-year-old was an integral part of England’s T20 World Cup victory in Australia, but last featured in a Test side against the West Indies in March 2022 after missing the bulk of the summer through injury.

Friday 9th December 4:30am

‘Wood adds to our ability to take 20 wickets’

Stokes said: “Having someone in your squad who can bowl 150kmph is a massive bonus for any team around the world, especially out here with Pakistan being a very hard place to come and win.

“Having someone of Woody’s calibre and what he brings, the way in which he bowls, is going to massive for us. He is going to add to our ability to take 20 wickets.”

In Foakes’ absence, Pope donned the gloves and performed well enough to retain the position.

He took one stunning catch down the leg-side in the second innings, which was particularly impressive as England sealed victory on the final day.

Stokes added: “The communication to Ben [Foakes] was that the real positive for him to take out of this selection is that it’s just for this Test match. Foakesy still is the number one gloveman in England and I’ll still keep saying it that he’s the best keeper in the world.

“It must sound a bit silly to not be picking him, but you’ve got to look at the conditions we face out here. Pakistan is a very hard place to come and bowl.

“Adding Wood into the side gives us the best opportunity to take 20 wickets. That’s what we came here to do. We came here to try and win games of cricket.

“We want to keep continuing to press the way that we play and we felt bringing Woody into the team was the best opportunity for us to do that out here in this specific Test match.”

Jacks was handed his Test debut just minutes before the first Test after Foakes failed to recover in time from an illness that had rocked England’s camp on the eve of the match.

The 24-year-old scored handy runs in the first innings and claimed six wickets as he took on more bowling responsibility with Livingstone unable to bowl.

Stokes: England could be even more adventurous

England captain Stokes says his side could be even more “adventurous” in Multan with the threat of early-morning fog and the rapidly-fading light at the end of the day potentially reducing the amount of overs played.

The all-rounder said: “In this Test, if it does pan out the way that it could potentially, with the late start and early finish, we could end up having only 300-350 overs. We might have to get even a bit more adventurous with what we do. We’ll see.

“When I got the opportunity to lead England out I wanted to do it in a way which I thought could work and the lads have responded really well to that,” added Stokes, who has led his team to seven wins from eight in Test cricket

“Test cricket has been pigeonholed for so long, for such a long time as to how it should be played, how you need to operate, how you prepare.

“Everyone’s played enough cricket and understands their game enough that if you just give the responsibility to the
individual to get ready, why can’t [aggressive cricket] work? Why not?”

Watch day one of the second Test between Pakistan and England, in Multan, live on Sky Sports Cricket from Friday. Build-up gets under way at 4.30am ahead of a 5am start.