England captain Ben Stokes looks set to return for second Test against Pakistan

Match seems likely to be played on same Multan strip as record-breaking first Test

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  England captain Ben Stokes sprints during a net session ahead of the second Test against Pakistan at Multan Cricket Stadium on October 13, 2024. Getty Images

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  England's Ben Stokes with coaching consultant James Anderson, left, and head coach Brendon McCullum during nets in Multan. Getty Images

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  Ben Stokes bowls in the nets. Getty Images

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  Ben Stokes bowls during England training. Getty Images

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  Ben Stokes chats with coaching consultant James Anderson during nets. Getty Images

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  England captain Ben Stokes bowls to Jordan Cox in the nets. AFP

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  Ben Stokes with James Anderson in Multan. Getty Images

England captain Ben Stokes looks set to be fit for his side's second Test against Pakistan in Multan on Tuesday.

Pakistan, meanwhile, have dropped star batsman Babar Azam and key bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah for the match, which is likely to be played on the same pitch on which the tourists broke a host of records in the first Test.

Stokes was ruled out of that match, in which England posted a score of 823-7 declared in their first innings, their highest total since 1938, on their way to an innings and 47-run victory under stand-in skipper Ollie Pope.

An England spokesman said Stokes trained with the team on Sunday. If the 33-year-old is declared fit, it is likely that Chris Woakes will make way for him.

"Ben bowled about four overs at full pace today. He has done some high- intensity running and had about a 45-minute batting session in the nets," the spokesman said.

"He will be assessed after today and a decision will be made on his availability over the course of the next 24 hours."

Stokes tore his left hamstring batting in the Hundred, a domestic tournament in England, in August.

The injury forced him to miss England's 2-1 home series triumph against Sri Lanka last month, with Pope again leading the team.

In the aftermath of the first Test defeat in Multan, Pakistan have omitted Babar, Shaheen and Naseem from their 16-man squad for the final two games.

Changes were expected but the absence of former captain Babar, the biggest cricketing superstar in Pakistan, is still a major surprise. The 29-year-old has not scored a Test century since December 2022 and has been “given a rest” alongside the two high-profile but out-of-form bowlers.

The Pakistan Cricket Board, meanwhile, seem set to re-use the same flat strip on which England compiled their huge total after the hosts had made 556 in their first innings.

England batsman Harry Brook made 317 and Joe Root scored 262, while in their first innings, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood and Salman Ali Agha all reached their centuries for Pakistan.

It is highly unusual for an identical pitch to be used for two Tests in succession but the visitors’ coaching consultant James Anderson, who played an England record 188 Tests, said: “That’s what it’s looking like.

“All the talk around is it’s going to be that pitch again. I’ve not seen that in international cricket. I thought there might have been a rule around not being able to do it, that you have to use a fresh pitch for international matches.

“But it’s their decision, their conditions, their home game. They can do what they want. The fact that it’s the same pitch doesn’t determine the result. It’s up to us to play well again and deal with the conditions, whatever that might be.”

“I don’t know if I’m surprised or not, really,” he added. “I’m not sure how well they can prepare any different sort of pitch from the one we got last week, so probably the best way to find a result pitch is to use the same one.

“They’ve watered it and tried to repair it as best as possible, so we’re not sure exactly what we’re going to get.”

Data analysts Cricviz ranked the strip used in the first match as the 11th flattest pitch in the world since ratings began in 2007.

Former England captain Michael Atherton described it as "shocking" while commentating for Sky Sports.

The third and final Test will be played in Rawalpindi from October 24.