Ben Foakes misses out as Mark Wood prefered over him for the 2nd Test

In terms of Ben Foakes and Mark Wood, England were in a pickle ahead of the Multan Test. However, Mark Wood has been selected ahead of Foakes to replace all-rounder Liam Livingstone, who has been ruled out of the series due to injury. Will Jacks is expected to reprise his role as a bowling all-rounder. Prior to the Multan Test, Stokes was questioned about the inclusion of Wood, and the skipper admitted that having someone like Wood on the team would be a huge advantage. In the first Test, England’s pace bowling unit included James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, and Ben Stokes.

England defeated Pakistan by 74 runs in the first Test match, despite a really flat deck with nothing for the bowlers to work with. The English are now leading the three-match Test series 1-0. Pakistan, on the other hand, will be looking to mount a strong comeback and win the second Test in order to level the series. After getting a road of a pitch at Pindi, the pitch at Multan Cricket Stadium is expected to provide some assistance to both fast bowlers and spinners early in the Test match. On the first three days, both teams’ batters will enjoy batting on this track. As the game progresses, it will provide much more assistance to the spinners.

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Wood has performed well against Pakistan

Pakistan have always felt uneasy against Wood’s pace, with the speedster making an impression in the seven-match T20I series earlier this year. With conditions not expected to be too different in Multan, Stokes will want to make the most of Wood’s X-factor. “I mean it is definitely an added bonus. It’s a lot better having someone bowling 150kph bouncers rather than me, Robbo [Ollie Robinson] and Jimmy [Anderson] at 80mph trying to do it. I think wherever you go in the world, conditions, whatever it is, having someone at Woody’s pace is an absolute bonus,” Stokes said ahead of the clash.