London (Reuters): England’s stand-in captain Ollie Pope has no doubt that Chris Woakes will expertly spearhead their pace attack in the three-test series in Pakistan beginning in Multan on Monday.

England swept a three-test series on their last tour of Pakistan but the look of their bowling attack has completely changed since James Anderson, Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson troubled the home batters two years ago.

Anderson has retired, Wood is out with an elbow injury while Robinson has been dropped leaving Woakes to lead a pace attack also including Gus Atkinson, who has played six tests, and debutant Brydon Carse.

“He’s still got that real hunger and desire to play a lot more test cricket, which is brilliant for us,” Pope said of Woakes on Sunday.

“He’s been working hard on his game to try and find different ways of taking wickets on different surfaces.”

“Any side was going to miss Jimmy Anderson but at the same time, we’ve seen this summer that guys can step up and fill in for him.

“Chris Woakes, the skills that he’s got probably operating at a fairly similar pace, he’s been working hard on his skills so he can step up and be that real leader of the attack.”

Atkinson’s pace and reverse-swing skills would come in handy in Pakistan, said Pope, who also had high expectations of Carse.

“We’ve obviously got Gus Atkinson off the back of a really hot summer. A bit of extra pace with him and Brydon Carse too. So I think we’ve got the skill set to fill that gap that Jimmy’s left.

“Obviously, it’s never going to be easy, but it’s going to be a great opportunity for those guys to learn and to bowl in some different conditions and use their pace and their skills.”

Anderson, now England’s bowling coach, will join the squad in Multan soon.

England are without regular skipper Ben Stokes, who is recovering from a hamstring injury.

Pakistan are smarting from 2-0 whitewash by Bangladesh last month but captain Shan Masood said they knew how to neutralise England’s aggressive style as he named their playing XI.

“We know their style but at the end of the day it’s about what we need to do to counter that,” Shan said.

The Week 5 festivities for “College GameDay” will visit one of the biggest games of the season as the Alabama Crimson Tide takes on the Georgia Bulldogs in a top-five SEC showdown.

The clash is another addition to a long list of crucial matchups between the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs. Of the past eight games between the two powers, four have decided the SEC champion and two have decided the national champion.

Georgia and Alabama haven’t competed against each other in the regular season since 2020, when the eventual national champion Crimson Tide outscored the Bulldogs 21-0 in the second half en route to a 41-24 victory.

Here are the best signs from “College GameDay” in Tuscaloosa, Alabama:

Dubai: In a tense match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, India secured a six-wicket win against Pakistan in the Women’s T20 World Cup on Sunday. Chasing 106, India reached 108-4 with seven balls to spare.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur led the charge, scoring an unbeaten 29 from 24 balls. Despite a neck injury scare just before the win, she stayed at the crease, and Sajeevan Sajana hit the winning runs to seal the victory.

India had a strong start at 61-1 but faced a setback when Pakistan captain Fatima Sana took two quick wickets. However, Kaur’s calm performance helped India recover after an earlier loss to New Zealand in Group A.

Pakistan’s Nida Dar top-scored with 28, but the team struggled on a tricky pitch, managing only 105-8 in their 20 overs. Fatima Sana admitted the team fell short of expectations, saying they were “10-15 runs short.”

India’s bowlers impressed, especially Arundhati Reddy, who took 3-19 and was named Player of the Match. Her disciplined bowling helped keep Pakistan in check, removing key batters Omaima Sohail and Aliya Riaz.

Shafali Verma’s 32 from 35 balls gave India a solid start, and though they lost wickets quickly, Kaur ensured India maintained their dominance over Pakistan in T20Is, now leading the head-to-head 13-3.

India now stands fourth in Group A, and they will play Sri Lanka next. Pakistan faces a tough match against Australia later in the week.

DUBAI: India delivered an all-round performance against Pakistan to secure their maiden victory in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.

Earlier, Indian bowlers excelled with the ball and restricted Pakistan women’s team to 105 in the highly-anticipated match.

Fatima Sana’s decision to bat first backfired as her side could only accumulate 105/8 in the allotted 20 overs.

The Green Shirts had a disastrous start to their innings as they lost opener Gull Feroza in first over of the match.

Later, Sidra Amin and Omaima Sohail perished within seven overs with the scoreboard reading 33/3.

Following the early debacle, Muneeba Ali offered some fight with her cautious 17-run knock before falling victim to Shreyanka Patil, leaving Pakistan in tatters at 41/4.

Meanwhile, all-rounder Aliya Riaz also failed to reach double figures as she fell victim to Arundhati Reddy.

Skipper Sana and Nida Dar then tried to settle things down, culminating with the former’s dismissal in the 14th over.

Pakistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals, while Dar (28) ticked the scoreboard singlehandedly until finally walking back to the dugout in the last over. Syed Aroob Shah scored a 17-ball fourteen taking the Sana-led team to 105.

Reddy bagged three wickets and Patil took two while Renuka Singh and Deepti Sharma and Asha Sobhana struck out one batter apiece.

Dar remained the top-scorer for Pakistan with a 34-ball 28.

Earlier, the Green Shirts won the toss and decided to bat first against the arch-rivals India.

India have to recover quickly after facing defeat against New Zealand in the opening match while the Sana-led side won against the Asia-Cup champions Sir Lanka by 31 runs on Thursday.

In regard to this match, Pakistan’s skipper, Sana while talking to ICC, said that she aims to continue the attacking brand of cricket her side has recently adapted against India.

“I have been watching that whichever team we played against — played attacking cricket,” Sana said ahead of the big contest.

Squads

Pakistan: Fatima Sana (c), Aliya Riaz, Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali, Nashra Sundhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Syeda Aroob Shah, and Tuba Hassan.

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (WK), Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Asha Sobhana, Shreyanka Patil, and Sajana Sajeevan.