England have only had a fleeting glance at a fully-fit Ben Stokes in the last three years but he has committed his long-term future to them, signing a new central contract which is expected to take in the 2025-26 Ashes tour. Stokes declined to specify the length of his new contract on Saturday, but it is understood to be a two-year deal.
Stokes will miss a fourth consecutive Test in Multan, having torn his hamstring in August while playing in the Hundred. The timing was hugely frustrating, coming so soon after he had sorted out his chronic left-knee injury through surgery, to the extent he could bowl 49 overs at full tilt across three matches against West Indies in July.
It is now two months since Stokes sustained the injury, but he said he is slightly ahead of schedule and does not believe it is a long-term concern. "Injuries are part of sport," he said. "I'm 33 now, so I've put my body through quite a lot. But I've started working incredibly hard over the last two years… it's not through lack of effort."
The ECB has not announced the latest batch of central contracts, though most of their regular players are already tied to multi-year deals. Stokes was an exception, leaving his options open last year after gambling that his value would rise during the subsequent 12 months. His new deal is thought to see him through until September 2026, taking in next year's Ashes tour.
It is a significant commitment, not least with the backdrop of a lucrative deal to play in the SA20 in January leaving Stokes fully aware of his value on the franchise circuit. But England are just as aware of Stokes' importance to their Test team, not only as a player but as a leader and figurehead for Brendon McCullum's regime.
Without a genuine allrounder available, England have stuck with the five-bowler formula they used against Sri Lanka and with Chris Woakes at No. 7. It is Woakes' first opportunity in two-and-a-half years to address his away Test record - 36 wickets at 51.88 - and throughout his career, he has tended to contribute more in Stokes' absence
As much as his batting and bowling, England will miss Stokes' captaincy in Multan. He was the mastermind of their unexpected series sweep in Pakistan two years ago, not least in Rawalpindi when his early declaration - setting 342 in four sessions - defied conventional wisdom. Ollie Pope's biggest challenge will be matching Stokes' proactivity in changing the tempo of matches.
Pope kept wicket in the first two Tests of the 2022 series, and is one of six men in England's XI who was ever-present in that series. Jack Leach is their only bowler to have bowled a red ball in Pakistan before; Gus Atkinson will be playing his first overseas Test, and Brydon Carse is on debut. Pope cannot simply rely on his attack managing itself.
"There are no doubts in my mind about the bowlers we have picked," Stokes said, speaking inside an empty commentary box to avoid the 40-degree heat on the boundary edge. "We know they will be able to withstand it. We know it is going to be tough, but it will be great exposure for the first time for them… It will show them how hard Test cricket can be."
Pope tried to follow Stokes' lead in setting attacking fields against Sri Lanka, but was too slow to react and adjust at The Oval as the third Test slipped away from England. He seemed to lack Stokes' ability to grasp opportunities to change the pace or mood of an innings in the field, though will have learned plenty from his first experience of the role.
Stokes will be on hand throughout to relay any advice, while James Anderson - who got the ball reversing in Multan two years ago - will arrive on the second day. "He has seen what can work out here," Stokes said. "I'm sure at some point I will want to say something to him, but I will only do it if I think something is worth saying. I don't want to say things for the sake of it.
"[In 2022], it was about trying to push the game forward because of the conditions we were faced with. We were always trying to do something to force a result, even if it means potentially giving Pakistan a sniff of winning the game… me and Brendon will encourage Ollie to influence the game himself, and make sure that comes across in his captaincy."
Shan Masood's public desire for surfaces that suit his seamers has piqued the interest of England's players, and there was a significant grass covering on the Test strip two days out. Pakistan are a better side than recent results suggest, not least when Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah are involved, and England will not take them lightly.
England's clean sweep in Pakistan remains their best series result under Stokes and McCullum, and was arguably the regime's high point, with a 10-8 win-loss record in the past two years. With Stokes unavailable for at least the first Test, a repeat on this tour might trump it.