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The England men’s Test squad wrapped up their preparations for their upcoming trip to Pakistan this week with a seven-day red ball training camp at the Abu Dhabi Cricket and Sports Centre.
England’s camp at Abu Dhabi’s premier multi-sports venue served as a precursor to their historic return to Pakistan after a 17-year absence.
It gave captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCallum the chance to get their squad up to speed after a memorable few months in English cricket.
Appointed captain and coach of the Test squad respectively last summer, Stokes and McCallum led a red-ball revolution against New Zealand, India and South Africa.
Stokes then became a hero as England lifted the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia last month, beating Pakistan in the final.
The 31-year-old is now delighted at the chance to return to Test cricket mode thanks to the Red Ball training camp in Abu Dhabi.
“We were very lucky to be in Abu Dhabi and use the facilities here before heading to Pakistan,” Stokes said on the outskirts of Tolerance Oval, which hosted a friendly between England and their England Lions. Team peers.
“We were spoiled,” he continued. “This [Abu Dhabi Cricket & Sports Hub] The facilities here are one of the highest quality that I can remember since leaving here [in the UAE]. We have amazing networking facilities in the back and all the squares and it was great to be able to have a practice game between the Test team and the Lions so hopefully we will be back here in the future as well. “
England have won six of seven Tests under Stokes and he is now looking forward to the upcoming challenge of getting past his country in an away series for the first time.
“I’m very excited,” Stokes said of the upcoming assignment. “From what I know, the summer has been going really well for us, and we all know that as a team, so it’s exciting to leave somewhere in the subcontinent where conditions are completely different, and whatever the team tour feels very Difficult. It’s going to be a completely different summer.”
Stokes and his team were able to prepare the Pakistani pitch by playing in the wickets of the Abu Dhabi Cricket and Sports Center which replicated the conditions in the country, and the England captain believes this attention to detail will mean Let them start running this winter.
“We had everything available,” Stokes added. “There was a different type of surface in the back net because we weren’t quite sure what we were going to get with Pakistan’s wicket side.
“We’ve been lucky to have some wickets to do something, some wickets to dry out a bit to help prepare the lads for the challenges the spinners are going to bring, so it’s been really good.”
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