KARACHI
\nLeg-spinner Rehan Ahmed will become the youngest man to play Test cricket for England after being handed a debut in the third Test against Pakistan. The 18-year-old breaks the record of legendary Yorkshire batter Brian Close, which has stood since 1949.
\nAhmed and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes come into the side in Karachi in place of pace bowler James Anderson and all-rounder Will Jacks. England have already won the series and are looking for a 3-0 clean sweep.
\nNo visiting team has ever beaten Pakistan 3-0 in their country, while England have only ever earned three previous clean sweeps in away Test series of three matches or more. Leicestershire\u2019s Ahmed will be aged 18 years and 126 days when the Test begins on Saturday. Former captain Close was 18 years and 149 days when he played against New Zealand at Old Trafford 73 years ago.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve been watching him closely, without letting him know I\u2019ve been watching him closely,\u201d England captain Ben Stokes told BBC Sport.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity to let Rehan go out and really express himself. There\u2019s not too much pressure to perform, just to have fun.
\n\u201cYou only make your debut once, you can never make it again. If we can make him feel like he\u2019s had a ball of a time out there, and he walks off with wickets and runs, that would be great.\u201d
\nAhmed has been named in the England side despite leaving training early on Friday because he felt unwell. He will not be the youngest person to play a Test for England – left-arm spinner Holly Colvin was 15 years and 336 days when she played for the women\u2019s team against Australia in 2005.
\nThe Leicestershire man has played only three first-class matches, taking nine wickets at an average of 30. He was part of the England team that reached the final of the Under-19 World Cup this year and played for England Lions against the touring South Africans in the home summer.
\nHe was then named in the England Lions squad for a training camp in the United Arab Emirates and added to the full squad during a warm-up game in Abu Dhabi in November.
\nAhmed adds a second frontline spin-bowling option to the tourists\u2019 XI on a Karachi pitch that is expected to turn.
\nHe considers himself to be a batter and made a century batting at number five for Leicestershire against Derbyshire in his last first-class match in September.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s very tough to tell what his biggest strength is, bat or ball,\u201d added Stokes. \u201cHe likes to show off with the bat, because he\u2019s got so many different shots. I\u2019m very excited to see what he\u2019s got with the ball.
\n\u201cOur message to him is \u2018look to take wickets with the ball, smack it with the bat and in the field chase after it until it goes for four\u2019.\u201d
\nFoakes takes the gloves from Ollie Pope after missing the first Test through illness, then being left out of the second.
\nJacks made his debut as a late replacement for Foakes in the first Test and took six wickets with his off-spin in the first innings of England\u2019s win in Rawalpindi, but bowled only eight over in the second-Test victory in Multan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KARACHI Leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed will become the youngest man to play Test cricket for England after being handed a debut in the third Test against Pakistan. The 18-year-old breaks the record of legendary Yorkshire batter Brian Close, which has stood since 1949. Ahmed and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes come into the side in Karachi in place […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":301774,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-301764","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n