England Pacer Leaves Pakistan Midway For His Wedding

England fast bowler Olly Stone is set to leave Pakistan on Wednesday to attend his wedding this weekend, casting doubt on his availability for the second Test.

Stone, who recently made a comeback to Test cricket with seven wickets in two matches against Sri Lanka, was not selected for the first Test in Multan, allowing him to depart earlier than planned.

Stone’s absence from the first Test, where Brydon Carse was chosen as England’s high-pace option, has facilitated his early return home. The first Test commenced on Monday, and with Stone’s wedding scheduled for Saturday, the tight turnaround makes his participation in the second Test, starting Tuesday, highly unlikely. England’s pace attack for the first Test includes Carse, Gus Atkinson, and Chris Woakes, with Matthew Potts also in the squad.

England’s management has expressed support for Stone’s decision to leave, particularly as he was not included in the latest batch of central contracts and his wedding was planned well before his recall to the national side. Stone had discussions with Rob Key, England’s managing director, and Brendon McCullum, the head coach, who both agreed that he should prioritize his wedding.

Fellow teammate Joe Root expressed his support for Olly Stone, saying,

It’s a special time in anyone’s life. I’m really excited for him. I’m sure he is all over the place with everything that’s going on, but it’ll be very special for him – and his wife – starting a different chapter in his life. We’ll all be raising a cold water to him at some point, celebrating.

At the moment, Pakistan has been dominating England in the first Test of the series as Shan Masood’s side finished with a mammoth first-innings total of 556.