PAK vs ENG: Why didn't Ben Duckett open in 1st test against Pakistan?

Ollie Pope opened instead of Ben Duckett alongside Zak Crawley in England’s first innings in Multan.

The PAK vs ENG test series got underway in Multan on another flat pitch, reminiscent of the 2022 series between these two teams, which England won 3-0.

This time, though, most of their bowling combination is different due to retirements and injuries. Pakistan themselves are under hot waters as well after losing to Bangladesh at home for the first time in test cricket.

The hosts have had a great start in the first test in Multan as they piled up 556 runs while batting for 149 overs.

With England’s Bazball approach, though, a result in their favour is still a possibility. However, they seemed to have been dented early on as Ben Duckett didn’t come to open the innings.

Why is Ben Duckett not opening in 1st test against Pakistan?

Ben Duckett suffered a blow on his thumb while catching Abrar Ahmed, and hence he didn’t open in England’s first innings. Captain Ollie Pope opened alongside Zak Crawley.

England would be hoping that Duckett’s thumb injury isn’t a serious one and that the opener returns to the park soon as the left-hander was a key member of the side that thumped Pakistan 3-0 two years ago.

Teams:

Pakistan (Playing XI): Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood(c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan(w), Agha Salman, Aamer Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed

England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope(c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir

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