Oct 06,V7N-England, led by Ben Stokes, are preparing to face Pakistan in a three-Test series starting Monday, coming off the back of a commanding 3-0 series sweep in 2022. Ranked third in the world, England have won five of their last six Tests and are full of confidence. However, Pakistan, after a heavy defeat to Bangladesh, are struggling for form. Here are some key talking points for England heading into the series:

Stokes' Role

While England won their recent series against Sri Lanka 2-1 without Ben Stokes, the all-rounder remains central to the team’s plans. Stokes will miss the first Test as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury, and there are doubts about whether he will be fit enough to bowl when he does return. His inclusion as a specialist batsman would alter the team's balance, which had featured five frontline bowlers in Sri Lanka. England may instead rely on Joe Root’s off-spin to fill the gap left by Stokes’ absence from the bowling attack. Despite being out of action for two months, Stokes proved his value in the West Indies series, with three fifties in his last four innings.

Bazball 2.0

England’s aggressive "Bazball" approach, which was introduced by coach Brendon McCullum in 2022, paid dividends in their last tour of Pakistan. In the first Test, England set a blistering tone by scoring 506-4 on the opening day. McCullum has since refined this style, adopting a more controlled aggression, which helped England dominate the West Indies and beat Sri Lanka. Retired fast bowler Stuart Broad is confident this strategy will continue to work in Pakistan, especially considering England’s strong batting against spin. Broad believes England will need to maintain their fast-paced style to force results in the conditions.

Inexperienced Bowling Attack

With the retirements of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, England are building a new pace attack. Chris Woakes, the most experienced of the group, has struggled in overseas conditions, and express pacer Mark Wood is unavailable. Surrey’s Gus Atkinson has made a strong start to his Test career, but he, alongside Matthew Potts and Olly Stone, brings limited experience to the table. Brydon Carse is set to debut in Multan. In the spin department, aside from Jack Leach, who is back after missing much of the English season, the options are inexperienced. Shoaib Bashir has only nine Tests to his name, and Rehan Ahmed, who debuted during England’s 2022 series win in Pakistan, hasn’t played since the India series. Broad has cautioned that England’s inexperience could be costly, particularly if things go wrong with an unproven bowling unit in difficult conditions.

England will be aiming to replicate their success from the 2022 series, but they face significant challenges, including an inexperienced bowling attack and the absence of their talismanic captain.

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