England announces final squad for first Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford, Manchester

England have announced their final squad for the first Test against Pakistan that gets underway at the Old Trafford in Manchester on August 5. It is the same squad that had beaten West Indies in the recently concluded three-match Wisden series 2-1. The hosts who had lost the first Test at Southampton staged a remarkable comeback in the next two Tests to register comprehensive wins. The English side will once again look to replicate their performance in the three-match Test series against Pakistan and add some valuable points to strengthen their position in the ICC World Test Championship.

The English squad for the first Test was announced by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on their official Twitter handle.

England Test squad:

Joe Root (Yorkshire) Captain, James Anderson (Lancashire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Dominic Bess (Somerset), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Rory Burns (Surrey), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Sam Curran (Surrey), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Dom Sibley (Warwickshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).
 

Reserves:
James Bracey (Gloucestershire), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Jack Leach (Somerset), Dan Lawrence (Essex).

Pakistan tour of England 2020

The Pakistani squad had reached England on June 28 for a bilateral series that was originally scheduled to be played from July 30 to September 2. However, as per the revised schedule, the two teams will now lock horns in a three-match Test series that will be followed by a three-match T20I series from August 5 to September 1 as the reigning ODI world champions will be hosting Ireland in a three-match ODI series preceding the bilateral series against the Men In Green. Azhar Ali will be leading Pakistan in Tests whereas, the current top-ranked T20I batsman Babar Azam will be leading the former number one T20I side in the game's shortest format. 

READ: 'The Board Was Under Pressure': PCB CEO On Why They Went Ahead With England Tour

(Image Courtesy: AP)