The first test match between Pakistan and England at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will begin on schedule after the visitors passed a medical examination before the match commenced.
There were rumours of the match being delayed by 24 hours after a virus had wiped out 14 members of the touring group including half of the 16-man playing squad, with symptoms including diarrhoea and vomiting.
In light of the events, England and Wales Cricket Board’s Rob Key and Neil Snowball, and the Pakistan Cricket Board’s Chairman Ramiz Raja engaged in emergency talks to determine the best outcome with ECB medical director Nick Peirce and team doctor Anita Biswas also part of the conversation.
The two boards decided to wait until 7:30 am today before determining whether the Test would go ahead as planned or be delayed by 24 hours but following an assessment by Dr Peirce and Dr Biswas, England felt confident about fielding a playing XI.
“The ECB has informed the PCB that they are in a position to field an XI, and, as such, the first Test will commence as per schedule today (Thursday, 1 December) at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.” A joint statement from the ECB and PCB said.
England, who had already named their playing side for the first test against Pakistan, named just one change to their side with Will Jacks replacing Ben Foakes.
Pakistan vs England First Test Playing XI:
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Jack Leach, Ollie Robinson, Jimmy Anderson.
Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam Ul Haq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Agha Salman, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Ali, Zahid, Mahmood
