PAK vs ENG: Ben Duckett dislocates thumb, England forced into immediate batting change

PAK vs ENG- Ben Duckett dislocates thumb, England forced into immediate batting change (Photo Source: PCB)

Test cricket has been in full swing in the sub-continent of late. Hence, along with the action on the field, injuries are also part and parcel of the game. In the ongoing first game between Pakistan and England in Multan, the visitors suffered a big jolt in the form of their premier opener, Ben Duckett.

Notably, the hosts continued to pile up on the misery of the English bowling attack as they accumulated a monumental 556 runs in their first innings. Captain Ollie Pope in a bid to wrap up the hosts as soon as possible, handed the ball to the ‘golden arm’ of the side, Joe Root, in the hope to end the one-and-a-half-day-long struggle of the bowlers. The ploy worked in the English side’s favour, as Root fired down a short ball to Abrab Ahmed. The batter who was caught off-guard, ended up edging a sharp chance to the only fielder stationed in the slips in the form of Ben Duckett.

The explosive English batter pounced on it without failing to complete a catch and send the tailender packing. However, this came at a huge cost as Duckett was left in immense pain the moment the ball got stuck in his bucket-like hands. As an immediate reaction, he took no time in flashing his hand towards the medical staff of England. Although he was seen holding his left wrist, it turned out that his left thumb bore the full impact of the ball.

Notably, with Ben Stokes already nursing an injury, this moment added to the ongoing injury woes of the visitors. Besides, Mark Wood was also ruled out of the series not long ago due to a stress fracture. As a result, Ollie Pope was forced to come out to bat as an opener replacing Duckett. However, things got worse as he failed to get going and was dismissed, courtesy of a stunning catch plucked by the young Aamer Jamal out of thin air. Pope had tried to smack the ball towards the boundary via a pull shot but was left stunned by the fielding brilliance of the Pakistani speedster.

Also Check- Watch: Aamer Jamal pulls off one-handed stunner to send Ollie Pope packing

Meanwhile, as per TalkSPORT, Duckett’s thumb was dislocated completely and hence he did not come out to bat for England. At the moment, the visitors have their task cut out as Joe Root (32* off 54 balls) was looking good and played a perfect partner to Zak Crawley (64* off 64 balls) who reached his fifty to steady the ship after losing their stand-in skipper early.

After Masood, Shafique, Agha tons puts Pakistan in driver’s seat on Day 2

Early in the day, batters Abdullah Shafique (102) and Captain Shan Masood (151) put up a vital 253-run stand while completing their centuries to put Pakistan in a commanding position. Besides, Saud Shakeel continued his good batting mojo as he smashed another fifty (82) in his Test career but missed out on a well-deserved century. While Salman Agha piled up on the misery of England and remained unbeaten during his century (104*) knock.