Ben Stokes won the hearts of cricket fans all over the world by announcing his intention to donate his full match money from the series to aid Pakistan in recovering from the disastrous floods that ravaged the country this year before the commencement of the historic England-Pakistan Test series. Stokes declared that he would be contributing money to the Pakistan flood relief effort.
Former Pakistani captain Shahid Afridi praised Stokes’ act and said similar acts ought to occur more frequently now that international athletes are getting along better. Afridi recalled leading Pakistan in the World Cup on Indian soil and claimed that Pakistan does not even treat his team with the same respect that they did in India.
During an interview with Samaa TV Shahid Afridi said, “I’ve always believed in that. When we went to India for the World Cup, I was there as a captain of the side. And I had said that the respect we get from India, we don’t even get that from Pakistan. It was a positive message because the situation at that time. There were doubts over whether we would travel to India. As an athlete, the whole world watches you. You always want keep your country’s reputation intact.”
He added, “Ben Stokes’ gesture was amazing, it was a nice message. Such things should happen more often, the players are more friendly now. International players now share the dressing room together.”
Regarding the series, this is the first time in 17 years that England has played red-ball cricket in Pakistan. At the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi, the first game of the series got underway. In advance of the 2022 T20 World Cup, England played a seven-match T20 International series in Pakistan earlier this year.
England won the toss and decided to bat first on the opening day of the game. Together, Ben Duckett and Zack Crawley scored a combined 233 runs, setting a new record.
