Rehan Ahmed will become the youngest man in history to play Test cricket for England after he was selected for the third match against Pakistan in Karachi.
Ahmed, 18, is a leg-spinning all-rounder for Leicestershire who has played just three first-class matches in his career.
“He's got a vast array of shots. And obviously a wrist-spinner is great to be able to have in your team, especially in these conditions,” said captain Ben Stokes of Ahmed's inclusion, with the pitch in Karachi expected to offer more spin than those in Rawalpindi or Multan.
“We brought him into the squad to try and get him amongst us and experience what it's like being in this cricket team and we've been very impressed with what we've seen.
“It's exciting times for Rehan especially, and he was very excited when we gave him the nod that he was going to play last night.”
At 18 years and 126 days old, Ahmed breaks the record that had stood since 1949 and was previously held by former England captain Brian Close.
He is one of two changes to the XI with Ben Foakes returning to keep wicket in place of James Anderson and Ahmed playing instead of Will Jacks.
“No problem at all,” Stokes replied as to whether there were any issues with Anderson’s fitness. “We just feel the decision was made just for looking after him to be honest. We've won the series two-nil and looking at what we've got coming up we felt like there was a good decision and a good time across the game to rest him.”
With one Test to play, England have an opportunity to become the first team to whitewash Pakistan in their home conditions. Stokes, however, has attempted to draw any attention away from that and focus England on following the process that has got them this far.
“We obviously want to win this Test,” said Stokes, “it would be great to leave here winning 3-0 but the big thing for my message to the group was concentrating on the process and not worrying too much about the outcome.”
To keep spirits high, England had a six-hitting competition at training with Stokes taking on Harry Brook and coach Brendon McCullum. Brook took the honours.
“From past experiences on away tours, coming to the end of them it feels like you count the days down until you get home,” Stokes added.
“I wanted to make sure that we didn’t feel like that and a big part of what we’re doing, especially out here, is to enjoy the time we’ve spent together. And I just wanted to continue that and add a little bit of fun into the morning session.”
