Stokes out as England make three changes

England allrounder Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the second Test against Pakistan, which starts today at Headingley.

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and elected to bat in Leeds holding a 1-0 series advantage. 

It has been revealed Stokes has a tear in his left hamstring and will be replaced in the XI by uncapped Surrey left-arm seamer Sam Curran. 

Stokes wasn’t the only Englishman under an injury cloud heading into the match, with wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow successfully passing a fitness test on his left knee two hours before play.

Meanwhile Chris Woakes comes in for fellow paceman Mark Wood, with Keaton Jennings replacing Mark Stoneman at the top of the order. 

Pakistan were forced to make one change after Babar Azam's broke his arm in the first Test, with Salahuddin coming in as his replacement. 

Curran, who received his cap from former England batsman Graham Thorpe, claimed 10-101 against Yorkshire last month, his maiden 10-wicket match haul in first-class cricket.

The 19-year-old has 104 wickets at 30.44 in 38 first-class matches, and has 18 at 19.55 from four fixtures with Surrey this season.

He is the younger brother of Tom Curran, who made his Test debut against Australia last December in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

At 19 years and 363 days old, Curran is just the seventh England player to make his Test debut before his 20th birthday, an exclusive group led by Brian Close, who played his first Test at 18 years and 149 days. 

While Curran is making his Test debut, Alastair Cook will play his 154th consecutive Test to surpass the world record mark of 153 set by Australia legend Allan Border. 

England XI: Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root, Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Dom Bess, Sam Curran, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

Pakistan: Azhar Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Haris Sohail, Asad Shafiq, Salahuddin, Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas