England’s batting all-rounder Liam Livingstone will make his test debut for his side against Pakistan during the first test match at Rawalpindi.
Livingstone staved off competition from Will Jacks and will reportedly bat at no. 8 and will be used as an all-rounder during the match.
Ben Duckett will also make his return to the test side following a layoff of 7 years after impressing England’s selectors during the seven-match T20I series against Pakistan before the Cricket World Cup.
Liam Livingstone has not represented Lancashire in the County Championship since 2021 to focus on the shortest format but has been handed a test debut as England continues forward with their “Bazzball” approach of full-throttle test cricket.
Duckett, meanwhile, amassed over 1000 runs in last season’s County Championship Division Two at an average of 72.28 to earn his recall.
The announcement of playing XI means teenager Rehan Ahmed will have to wait a little longer to make his debut for England.
Pakistan is yet to confirm their final team for the first test match.
England XI v Pakistan:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Ben Foakes, Liam Livingstone, Jack Leach, Ollie Robinson, Jimmy Anderson.
