England’s preparations for their first Test series in Pakistan for 17 years have taken a major hit as half the squad have gone down with a virus the day before the first Test is set to begin.
England had an optional training session at the Rawalpindi cricket stadium today but only Joe Root, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Keaton Jennings and Ollie Pope attended with the rest, including captain Ben Stokes, remaining at the hotel having been advised to rest.
