England wins the toss and elects to bat against Pakistan in the 3rd Test

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — England won the toss on Thursday and elected to bat in the third and final Test against Pakistan as both teams filled their lineups with spinners for the series decider.

The slow bowlers were expected to dominate after ground staff used huge industrial fans and even outdoor heaters to prepare a dry wicket in the hope of neutralizing England's aggressive batting.

The expected slow pitch has encouraged England to deploy Rehan Ahmed as their third specialist spinner along with left-arm spinner Jack Leach and off-spinner Shoaib Bashir.

“It looks like a very good wicket at the moment,” captain Ben Stokes said after England won their first toss in their last eight Test matches. “It’s another challenge that’s been thrown at us but we’ll have to wait and see (how the wicket plays).”

Ahmed, who has not played an international match since February, is one of two changes England made to the side that lost the second Test by 152 runs on a recycled wicket in Multan as Pakistan won their first home Test since 2021 and the The equalizer made the series 1-1.

Ahmed replaced fast bowler Matthew Potts, while pace bowler Brydon Carse was given a rest and Gus Atkinson returned after featuring in England's memorable innings and 47-run win in the first Test.

Pakistan retained the same starting XI, giving captain Shan Masood his first win after losing six in a row since being appointed red-ball captain. Off-spinner Sajid Khan and left-arm spinner Noman Ali claimed all 20 wickets to nullify the English batters and Pakistan also retained leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood, who bowled just six overs in the second Test.

“We have always talked about consistency and like to support players,” Masood said.

Masood, who had hoped for a spinner-friendly wicket for the series decider, was unsure how the wicket would behave.

“We like to think we have to play good cricket,” he said. “The most important thing is to see the situation and react to it… The preparations are a little different (and) until both teams compete, we will keep our opinions to ourselves.”

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Lineups:

Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (captain), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Rizwan, Aamer Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood.

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.

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AP Cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket