Pakistan should play three pacers and one spinner in 1st Test against England: Madan Lal
New Delhi [India], August 5 (ANI): Former India pacer Madan Lal feels that Pakistan should play three pacers and one spinner in the first Test of the three-match against England at Old Trafford.
The World Cup-winning bowler also advised Pakistan to go with the extra batsman in the series opener.
"Pakistan should play 3 pacers and 1 spinner and play extra batsman. Fr Pakistan good to start the tour OldTrafford because few matches already played on this venue," the veteran cricketer tweeted.
On the other hand, England skipper Joe Root waiting for more clarity on all-rounder Ben Stokes' readiness to feature as a front-line seam option before picking the side for Manchester Test.
Stokes produced one of the finest all-round performances of all time in the second Test against West Indies, scoring 254 runs across two innings and chipping in with three vital wickets in England's series-leveling victory.
"Luckily, we're in a position where we can name the same squad of 14 as the last game, but we still need to know a little bit more about where Ben's at. Unfortunately because of the weather today he wasn't able to bowl outside. So we will wait on that throughout the night and make a decision in the morning, ESPNcricinfo quoted Root as saying.
"With that squad of players, we've got a number of different options, we've got everything to cover the conditions and the pitch, and whatever that throws at us, we feel like we'll have an answer for it," he added.
In the series, which is a part of the World Test Championship, the third umpire will be calling the front-ball no-balls in the three-match Test series between England and Pakistan, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed on Wednesday.
The apex cricketing body confirmed that the technology will be tried out in this Test series before any decisions are taken on its future use in the longest format of the game.
The first Test between England and Pakistan will start later in the day at Old Trafford in Manchester. (ANI)
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