England captain Stokes has 'no complaints' about engineered test wickets in Pakistan

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — England captain Ben Stokes had no complaints about losing the test series to Pakistan 2-1 on two engineered spin wickets.

“Absolutely not,” Stokes said after Pakistan thumped England by nine wickets inside three days of the third and final test at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium to clinch its first series win at home since 2021.

“Playing in your home conditions, you want to give yourself the best chance of bringing yourselves into the game more. And that’s what Pakistan felt like," he said. "They needed to do (that) to give themselves a chance to win, so absolutely no complaints whatsoever.”

Pakistan's ploy of making dry spin wickets with the help of industrial-sized fans and outdoor heaters nullified England’s brilliant start to the series when it racked 823-7 declared to win the first test by an innings and 47 runs.

The selection committee recalled spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan after 10 months and the slow bowlers claimed 39 of the 40 wickets in the last two tests.

“They use their home conditions in their favor,” Stokes said. “Pakistan just played better cricket for a longer period of time than what we did.”

Ali and Khan claimed all 20 wickets in the second test on a recycled wicket before sharing 19 wickets in the final test, which lasted for just seven sessions.

England couldn’t grab its opportunities in both test matches. They dropped two crucial catches of Salman Ali Agha in the second test and then in Rawalpindi allowed Pakistan to take 77-run first innings lead after pushing them to 187-7.

The top-order batters also got strangled against Ali and Khan once Harry Brook made a triple hundred and Joe Root scored a career-best 262 in the first test. Ollie Pope, who led in the first test with Stokes still nursing his hamstring injury, finished the series at a disappointing total of only 55 runs in six innings.

Stokes scored 1, 37, 12 and 3 on his return in the last two test matches and his below-par series was summed up when he got out lbw in an awful manner while trying to leave Ali's arm ball on Saturday.

“We obviously underperformed because we’ve lost the last two games,” Stokes said. “We got our own challenges and we weren’t able to stand up to those challenges for long enough to get the result that we wanted.

“We did it for a very small amount of times throughout the last two games," he added. "But when you don’t do it for long periods, you’re more than likely going to end up on the wrong side of results, which has definitely happened in these two games.”

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Pakistan's Noman Ali, left, celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of England's Ben Stokes, second right, during the day three of third test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Noman Ali, left, celebrates after taking the wicket of England's Ben Stokes during the day three of third test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Ben Stokes, second right, and teammates shake hand on the end of third test cricket match against Pakistan, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Ben Stokes, center, and teammates clap in an awarding ceremony on the end of third test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Ben Stokes, center, and teammates stand in a awarding ceremony on the end of third test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Ben Stokes reacts as he walks off the field after his dismissal during the day three of third test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Israel unleashed a series of pre-dawn airstrikes against military sites in Iran on Saturday, saying it targeted facilities used to make the missiles fired at Israel and surface-to-air missile locations.

The attack risks pushing the archenemies closer to all-out war at a time of spiraling violence across the Middle East, where militant groups backed by Iran — including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — are already at war with Israel.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says the total toll over the past year is over 2,600 killed and 12,200 wounded. The fighting in Lebanon has driven 1.2 million people from their homes, including more than 400,000 children, according to the United Nations children’s agency. Israeli strikes have killed much of Hezbollah’s top leadership since fighting ramped up in September.

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not differentiate between militants and civilians. The Israel-Hamas war began after Hamas-led militants on Oct. 7, 2023, blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed in, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.

Here's the latest:

CAIRO — Egypt said it's following with “great concern the rapid and serious escalation” in the region, including Israel’s attack on Iran, and warned about “serious confrontations” across the Middle East.

The Foreign Ministry said that a cease-fire deal in Gaza “is the sole means to de-escalate” tensions in the Middle East.

Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been leading efforts to reach a cease-fire deal in Gaza, which includes the release of hostages held by Hamas as well as Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

APIA, Samoa — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Iran should not respond to Israeli airstrikes and urged all sides to show restraint.

His comments at the Commonwealth Summit in Samoa came after Israel attacked Iran with a series of pre-dawn airstrikes Saturday in what it said was a response to the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic Republic fired upon Israel earlier this month.

Starmer said Israel has the right to defend itself against Iranian aggression.

“This is a live situation, and we are obviously monitoring it closely alongside our partners,” Starmer said. “We need to avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to show restraint. Iran should not respond. We will continue to work with allies to de-escalate the situation across the region.”

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli attacks on military bases and said Iran will respond.

A statement by the Foreign Ministry called the attacks a clear violation of international law and the U.N. Charter, particularly regarding the prohibition against threats or the use of force against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of nations.

The ministry emphasized Iran’s inherent right to self-defense, as reflected in Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, saying it has an obligation to respond to foreign aggression.

JERUSALEM — Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid praised the work of the military but said Israel should have struck harder.

“The decision not to attack strategic and economic targets in Iran was wrong. We could and should have exacted a much heavier price from Iran,” Lapid wrote in a post on X.

He said the air force actions showed its operational capabilities, and that Israel’s enemies know that its military is strong and can attack anywhere.

TEHRAN, Iran — The Iranian army said two soldiers were killed in Israeli strikes.

The army statement was carried by the Arabic-language channel of the state TV, Al-Alam. The report did not elaborate.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s military said early Saturday that Israeli strikes on the country targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces, causing “limited damage.”

The statement from Iran’s armed forces was read aloud on state television, which showed no images of the damage described. Iran’s military claimed its air defenses limited the damage done by the strikes, without providing additional evidence.

Israel said it launched attacks targeting missile manufacturing plants and other sites in the country.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel said early Saturday it had completed its strikes targeting Iran. The Israeli military issued a statement saying its planes “have safely returned home.”

Its aircraft “struck missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the state of Israel over the last year,” the military said. “These missiles posed a direct and immediate threat to the citizens of the state of Israel.”

It added that it also “struck surface-to-air missile arrays and additional Iranian aerial capabilities, that were intended to restrict Israel’s aerial freedom of operation in Iran.” It offered no damage assessment.

Iran acknowledged only “limited damage” to military facilities.

The early Saturday airstrikes on Iran were in retaliation for a ballistic missile assault Oct. 1, Israeli officials said. The attack, threatened for weeks by Israel, comes as the Middle East sits on the precipice of a regional war more than a year after an initial attack by the militant group Hamas on Israel. In the time since, Israel has launched a devastating ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and an invasion of neighboring Lebanon, targeting militants long armed and aided by Tehran.

A view of Tehran capital of Iran is seen, early Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Palestinians gather in a morgue with the bodies of their relatives killed in Israeli airstrikes in the city of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo)

Smoke and fire rise from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A woman chants slogans during a pro-Palestinian protest next to the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

A view of Tehran capital of Iran is seen, early Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

In this image taken from video released by the Israel Defense Forces early Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari announces that the IDF is conducting strikes on military targets in Iran. (Israel Defense Forces via AP)

A view of Tehran capital of Iran is seen, early Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)