The England cricket team, which reached Pakistan to play a Test series after almost 17 years, is in trouble. The first match of the three-Test series is to be played on December 1 and 14 members of the England team have fallen ill. Half of the sick members are players and the rest are said to be support staff.
Initially, news came that members of the England team had been victims of food poisoning. Then came to know that it has gone viral. Pakistani and English media have confirmed the news.
A spokesman for the English team said that the members of the team have not been infected with the coronavirus. They have become victims of some other virus. He hoped that most of the players would be fine before the match.
The team has gone with the chef to avoid food poisoning
Players like England, Australia, and New Zealand have often been victims of food poisoning on tours of the Indian subcontinent. To avoid this, the England team has brought a chef with them. The players were avoiding eating outside food, but meanwhile, the virus caught them.
The names of all the players suffering from viral have not been revealed. It is being told that England captain Ben Stokes and star bowler James Anderson are included in these. Batsman Joe Root was also ill, but now he is fine and also reached for practice on Wednesday.
England has been able to win only 2 Tests
The England team has so far played 24 Test matches on Pakistan’s soil. The team was able to win only 2 of these matches. The team got its first win in 1961 at Lahore ground and second win in 2000 at Karachi ground.
18-year-old youth enters in English team
England has also included 18-year-old Rehan Ahmed in the squad for the Test series against Pakistan. Rehan is a leg spinner. Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq had said- ‘I saw Rehan bowling for the first time at the age of 11. I was surprised to see his googly. Excited to see him play in Pakistan.
Played 7 T20s in September
England had earlier also gone to Pakistan to play a 7-match T20 series during September-October. This series took place just before the T20 World Cup held in Australia. England won the series 4–3. These two teams met in the final of the T20 World Cup after a bilateral series in Pakistan. England won the final match.
Pakistan won in 2005
In 2005, the England team went to Pakistan to play a series of 3 Tests and 5 ODIs. Pakistan defeated England 2-0 by winning the first and third Test of the series. The second test was a draw.
The ODI series was also won by Pakistan by a margin of 3-2. Michael Vaughan was the Test captain of England and Inzamam-ul-Haq of Pakistan in the series.