Ollie Pope retains gloves as England prepare for second Test in Pakistan

Ollie Pope will remain as England’s wicketkeeper for the second Test against Pakistan that starts in Multan on Friday despite Ben Foakes returning to full fitness after a sickness bug.

Announcing his team 24 hours out from the toss, captain Ben Stokes confirmed just one change to the side that claimed a 1-0 series lead in Rawalpindi, with the injured Liam Livingstone replaced by an extra fast bowler in the fit-again Mark Wood.

It represents another bold move by Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum as they continue to do things differently, with Pope’s seventh first-class outing as a wicketkeeper – a match that saw him score a first innings century and effect seven dismissals during 251 overs in the field – convincing them he can continue.

Stokes was pains to state that Foakes, absent from the series opener due, remains the team’s first-choice wicketkeeper looking ahead. Instead this is a one-off decision designed to bolster his wicket-taking options.

On explaining the decision to Surrey’s first-choice wicketkeeper, Stokes said: “The one thing we did say to him was: don’t take this as anything going into the future.

“He is still the number one gloveman in England and I’ll still keep saying it, that he’s the best keeper in the world. It must sound a bit silly to not be picking him, but you’ve got to look at the conditions we face out here.

“Pakistan is a very hard place to come and bowl. Adding Mark Wood gives us the best opportunity to take 20 wickets. The big one is not to get conservative and be happy we’re 1-0 up, because we’ll certainly be trying to leave here leading 2-0.

“We want to keep continuing to press the way that we play and we felt bringing Woody in was the best opportunity for us to do that out here in