Pakistan vs England: Olly Stone (left) and Ben Duckett© AFP
Olly Stone is set to return home from England's tour of Pakistan on Wednesday for his wedding this weekend, making it unlikely he will be available for the second Test in Multan. Stone took seven wickets in two Tests against Sri Lanka at the end of the English summer, marking his first appearances in the format in three years. Brydon Carse was chosen as England's high-pace option for the first Test in Multan, allowing Stone to depart earlier than initially planned.
The date of Stone's return remains uncertain and will depend on the status of England's fast bowlers following the first Test. However, with his wedding on Saturday and the second Test beginning on Tuesday, his participation is doubtful.
England opted for Carse, Gus Atkinson, and Chris Woakes as their seamers for the first Test, with Matthew Potts also in the squad.
The England management has approved Stone's leave, considering he was not included in their latest central contracts and his wedding had been planned long before his recall.
Stone discussed his plans with England's managing director Rob Key and coach Brendon McCullum before the tour, and they agreed he should return home for his wedding.
"We booked the wedding on the basis of me only playing for Notts at the time," Stone recently told the BBC, as per quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
"Jess said she was happy to move the wedding and I was adamant on keeping it where it was if possible. For what she has given up and sacrificed for me, I thought the least I could do was to try and make it work," he added.
In a previous era, seamer Tony Pigott postponed his wedding at short notice to play in what would be his only Test during England's 1984 tour of New Zealand.
More recently, contracted players have also rescheduled weddings due to scheduling conflicts.
Joe Root mentioned on Saturday that he and his wife Carrie had rearranged their wedding "three times because of different tours."
Former England skipper Joe Root said that Stone would leave the tour with his teammates' best wishes.
"It's a special time in anyone's life," Root said, as per quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
"I'm really excited for him. I'm sure he is all over the place with everything that's going on, but it'll be very special for him - and his wife - starting a different chapter in his life. We'll all be raising a cold water to him at some point, celebrating," Root concluded.