England captain Ben Stokes showed confidence in playing a bigger role with the ball in the third and final Test against Pakistan at Rawalpindi,
starting October 24 as well. However, Stokes suffered a hamstring injury during the 2024 Hundred, resulting in his absence for four Tests until the first Pakistan Test as well. However, he returned in the second Test and bowled five overs in each innings of England’s 152-run defeat as well.

Speaking to the media two days before the start of the final Test, Stokes was quoted as saying by BBC, “It was good to get through it. I have put myself through my paces at training, bowled two spells. Coming in and being one of only two seamers, I’m fully confident that I’ll be able to get more out of myself this week than I did last week.”

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“Leg-spinners have an amazing ability to break a game open. Having his batting ability lower down the order is also a massive bonus. The way Leach and Bashir have bowled has been fantastic in these first two Tests. Adding Rehan’s free spirit and desperation to change the game every time he’s got the ball in his hand is a massive bonus for us this week,” he further added.

However, Ben Stokes also felt the Rawalpindi pitch for the final Test had been raked to produce a turning wicket as well.

“I’ve never been a groundsman, but you’d think a rake would assist the spin. We can have a good guess which ends the Pakistan spinners will operate from. There’s not too much grass to hold everything together. It will be interesting to see how it goes. It will be a pretty good wicket for the first couple of days, at least,” Ben Stokes concluded.