Liam Livingstone to make his Test debut against Pakistan

All-rounder Liam Livingstone is set to make his Test debut for England in their first Test against Pakistan on Thursday, December 1. The 29-year-old, who will bat at number eight, has pipped Surrey's Will Jacks, while Ben Duckett will open the batting for his first Test appearance since 2016.

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Despite not representing Lancashire in the County Championship since September 2021, Livingstone has been focusing on shorter-format cricket. He caught the attention of Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum for his eye-catching shots in white-ball cricket.

"It was a pretty simple conversation I had with him (Livingstone), actually before we went out to Australia for the World Cup."

"Obviously, I told him where we stood in terms of him playing some red-ball cricket out in the subcontinent."

Ben Stokes, the England captain said

"With the skill, he has with the ball and the way he plays with the bat is very aligned with how Baz and I want to see the team play. He jumped at the opportunity. I don't necessarily think that not playing a red-ball game is going to be too much of a thing for him."

"He's a very natural cricketer, he's going to go out there and really express himself. So, yeah, looking forward to seeing him in the whites."

Ben Duckett had not played a Test since 2016

Duckett had not played a Test since 2016 when he was handed a brutal baptism of fire at the hands of Indian spin bowler Ravichandran Ashwin. Then aged 22, Duckett played in the series against both Bangladesh and India. He averages just 15.71 and has not played Test cricket for England since.

However, Duckett amassed over 1,000 runs in last season's County Championship Division Two at an average of 72.28.

When England toured Pakistan for seven T20 internationals in September and October - with the visitors winning 4-3 - Duckett finished as the second-highest run-scorer during the series. Meanwhile, Stokes backed him to succeed at the top of the order.

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"Ducky (Duckett) showed out here in the T20s just how good he is against spin bowling," he said.

"To have someone at the top like him who can mess around with the fields and make it a captain's nightmare because he sweeps both ways, and we know how much of a part spin plays out in this area.

"(We are) excited to have him at the top."