Mark Butcher

As England prepared for the first match of their three-Test series in Pakistan, they were faced with a familiar conundrum.
While Ben Stokes had said he was “on track” to be fit for the series opener in Multan after recovering from the hamstring tear he sustained in August, he was ruled out on Saturday.
If Stokes had been fit to bowl then they had the option of playing four quicks and a spinner or three quicks and two spinners. That would have given them a well-balanced side. But if he had only played as a batter, they would have had a difficult decision to make.
Team compositi...