The first Test will begin on December 1 in Rawalpindi.
Liam Livingstone, an all-around player, is about to make his Test debut as England has revealed their starting lineup for the historic three-match series against Pakistan that will begin with the first Test at Rawalpindi.
In his first Test match since 2016, Ben Duckett will open the batting alongside Zak Crawley, replacing Alex Lees. In Pakistan, England will play Pakistan for the first time in 17 years. After gunmen opened fire on the Sri Lankan squad bus in 2009, England decided not to visit Pakistan. They ultimately traveled to Pakistan in September and October of this year for a seven-match T20I series, which they won 4-3.
The England team that won the T20 World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia earlier this month included Lancashire's Livingstone, one of the best white-ball cricket players in the world. He hasn't played in a first-class game since September 2021, but this week in Abu Dhabi, he took part in England's warm-up game against the England Lions, scoring 36 runs off of 23 balls and taking two wickets.
Ben Stokes, England's captain, said Livingstone's lack of red-ball cricket experience won't be an obstacle. He will be the 708th player to represent England in Test cricket. Despite the inclusion of Livingstone, England has kept its starting lineup of six batters with Ben Foakes serving as the wicketkeeper-batter at position seven.
“The skill he has with the ball and the way he plays with the bat is very aligned with the way we want to see the team play. I don't necessarily think that not playing a red-ball game is going to be too much of a thing for him. He's a very natural cricketer, he's going to go out there and really express himself. I'm looking forward to seeing him in the whites. He did say when he got his white pads out of the bag 'what are these?',” said Stokes.
England XI for first Test vs Pakistan: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Liam Livingstone, Jack Leach, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson.