England’s fast bowling coach, James Anderson, is not accompanying the team on their tour of Pakistan, as he is participating in the Scotland’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
The ongoing golf tournament is set to end on October 6, after which Anderson is expected to join the team by the second day of the Test match against the Green Shirts.
Despite his absence, the 42-year-old is sharing his invaluable experience with the team’s bowlers via WhatsApp.
Previously in 2022, the former player played a key role during England’s tour of Pakistan, featuring in two Tests and taking eight wickets.
Following his retirement in July, Anderson has been a mentor to the English bowlers.
It is worth noting that, Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson, who gave a remarkable performance during the previous series against Pakistan, with a combined 17 wickets, are not part of the squad in the forthcoming Test series.
This is the case because Wood is sidelined due to injury while Robinson hasn’t been selected.
However, England’s fast bowling attack for the series consists of Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Ollie Stone, and Chris Woakes.
Making a comeback, Woakes will be playing his first Test match in Asia since 2016.
On the contrary, the other four fast-bowlers, lack overseas Test experience, that can be a pressure on the bowling unit of England.
It is to be noted that Ollie Stone will be leaving on the fifth day of the match as he is getting married next week.
Meanwhile, the first match of the Test series between England and Pakistan is scheduled to take place on October 7 at the Multan Cricket Stadium.
Schedule:
Oct 7-11 – First Test, Multan
Oct 15-19 – Second Test, Multan
Oct 24-28 – Third Test, Rawalpindi
Pakistan Squad (for 1st Test)
Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicket-keeper), Shaheen Shah Afridi
England Squad
Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Ben Stokes (c), Brydon Carse, Rehan Ahmed, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Josh Hull, Jack Leach, Matthew Potts, Shoaib Bashir, and Olly Stone.
Sohail Imran Sohail Imran is a senior reporter for Geo News.- James Anderson
