<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" version="2.0">
  <channel>
    <title>Aaj TV English News - Sports</title>
    <link>https://english.aaj.tv/</link>
    <description>Aaj TV English</description>
    <language>en-Us</language>
    <copyright>Copyright 2026</copyright>
    <pubDate>Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:27:23 +0500</pubDate>
    <lastBuildDate>Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:27:23 +0500</lastBuildDate>
    <ttl>60</ttl>
    <item xmlns:default="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/">
      <title>Five ODI debuts for Covid-hit England in Pakistan opener
</title>
      <link>https://english.aaj.tv/news/30262486/</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;CARDIFF, United Kingdom: England gave debuts to five players for the first one-day international against Pakistan in Cardiff on Thursday after they were forced to field an entirely new XI following a coronavirus outbreak.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The original squad chosen for this three-match series had to go into isolation, leaving the 50-over world champions having to announce a brand new group just 48 hours before Thursday's clash at Sophia Gardens. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Test batsman Zak Crawley was included together with Wales-born Phil Salt, now of Sussex, Somerset all-rounder Lewis Gregory, Durham fast bowler Brydon Carse and Middlesex wicketkeeper John Simpson.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Ben Stokes, captaining England after being rushed back from a finger injury, won the toss and elected to field.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Pakistan gave a debut to middle-order batsman Saud Shakeel.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;"I am not a massive wicket watcher but we've been a successful team bowling first," said Stokes at the toss. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;"Just because we've got a change of personnel doesn't mean we'll change our ways.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;"It's an exciting time for everyone involved at the moment. It's a strange situation to be involved in but we've got an amazing crop of talent and if something like this comes along and we can pick a team of this calibre then that shows we're in a good place."&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Stokes, however, struggled to remember all rhe players in England's new-look XI.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;"We've got five debutants. John Simpson, Phil Salt, Brydon Carse and... I should know this, I've just done the cap presentation... can someone help me out?"&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Pakistan captain Babar Azam added: "We are looking forward to the game and this is a beautiful ground, we play well here.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;"We have Saud Shakeel making his debut and Sohaib Maqsood coming back after five years.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;   **Teams**
&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;p&gt;England: Phil Salt, Dawid Malan, Zak Crawley, James Vince, Ben Stokes (capt), John Simpson (wkt), Lewis Gregory, Craig Overton, Brydon Carse, Saqib Mahmood, Matt Parkinson&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wkt), Saud Shakeel, Sohaib Maqsood, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Umpires: Alex Wharf (ENG), Richard Kettleborough (ENG)&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;TV umpire: Richard Illingworth (ENG)&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
      <content:encoded xmlns="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"><![CDATA[<p><strong>CARDIFF, United Kingdom: England gave debuts to five players for the first one-day international against Pakistan in Cardiff on Thursday after they were forced to field an entirely new XI following a coronavirus outbreak.</strong></p>

<p>The original squad chosen for this three-match series had to go into isolation, leaving the 50-over world champions having to announce a brand new group just 48 hours before Thursday's clash at Sophia Gardens. </p>

<p>Test batsman Zak Crawley was included together with Wales-born Phil Salt, now of Sussex, Somerset all-rounder Lewis Gregory, Durham fast bowler Brydon Carse and Middlesex wicketkeeper John Simpson.</p>

<p>Ben Stokes, captaining England after being rushed back from a finger injury, won the toss and elected to field.</p>

<p>Pakistan gave a debut to middle-order batsman Saud Shakeel.</p>

<p>"I am not a massive wicket watcher but we've been a successful team bowling first," said Stokes at the toss. </p>

<p>"Just because we've got a change of personnel doesn't mean we'll change our ways.</p>

<p>"It's an exciting time for everyone involved at the moment. It's a strange situation to be involved in but we've got an amazing crop of talent and if something like this comes along and we can pick a team of this calibre then that shows we're in a good place."</p>

<p>Stokes, however, struggled to remember all rhe players in England's new-look XI.</p>

<p>"We've got five debutants. John Simpson, Phil Salt, Brydon Carse and... I should know this, I've just done the cap presentation... can someone help me out?"</p>

<p>Pakistan captain Babar Azam added: "We are looking forward to the game and this is a beautiful ground, we play well here.</p>

<p>"We have Saud Shakeel making his debut and Sohaib Maqsood coming back after five years.</p>

<pre><code>   **Teams**
</code></pre>

<p>England: Phil Salt, Dawid Malan, Zak Crawley, James Vince, Ben Stokes (capt), John Simpson (wkt), Lewis Gregory, Craig Overton, Brydon Carse, Saqib Mahmood, Matt Parkinson</p>

<p>Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wkt), Saud Shakeel, Sohaib Maqsood, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf</p>

<p>Umpires: Alex Wharf (ENG), Richard Kettleborough (ENG)</p>

<p>TV umpire: Richard Illingworth (ENG)</p>

<p>Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)</p>
]]></content:encoded>
      <category>Sports</category>
      <guid>https://english.aaj.tv/news/30262486</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 08 Jul 2021 19:06:25 +0500</pubDate>
      <author>none@none.com (AFP)</author>
      <media:content url="https://i.aaj.tv/large/2021/07/60e706331d9d2.jpg" type="image/jpeg" medium="image" height="1564" width="2500">
        <media:thumbnail url="https://i.aaj.tv/thumbnail/2021/07/60e706331d9d2.jpg"/>
        <media:title/>
      </media:content>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>
