Ben Stokes is expected to be fit for England’s tour of Pakistan after a scan on his hamstring injury.
The Test captain missed the three-match series against Sri Lanka after suffering a hamstring tear while playing in The Hundred for Northern Superchargers last month.
Stokes has been named in the squad for the tour of Pakistan, and the ECB have now announced that a scan on Wednesday confirmed his recovery “remains on track”.
The first Test is scheduled to begin on October 7 in Multan, which will also host the second match of the series due to renovation work in Karachi.
Stokes told ESPN Cricinfo earlier this month: “I’d rather take an extra two weeks than run the risk of potentially doing something worse and then putting myself out of the game for longer.
“I’m just making sure that I’m doing everything right and everything I possibly can to try and give myself a chance to being fit for that first Test.”
It remains to be seen whether Stokes is fit to play a full part as an all-rounder from the start of the series. The 33-year-old underwent surgery on a long-standing knee problem last winter and was finally able to bowl pain-free during the first half of the homer summer after being forced to play as a specialist batter for much of the previous year.
Having Stokes fit to play a part with the ball would help England balance their side, not to mention bring valuable experience to what – Chris Woakes aside – is largely an unproven seam attack. Mark Wood is sidelined with an elbow injury, while James Anderson retired earlier this summer and Ollie Robinson – superb in Pakistan two years ago – is out of favour.
Ollie Pope skippered the side in Stokes’s absence at the end of the summer and led a 2-1 series win over Sri Lanka, but defeat in the Third Test at the Oval ruined England’s hopes of a first perfect summer since 2004.
Stokes led England to an historic 3-0 victory during their first Test tour to Pakistan in 2022 and the series triumph remains arguably the high point of his captaincy.
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