Rawalpindi, Nov 30 (PTI) Pakistan and England Boards have agreed to the option of pushing back the start of the first Test by one day to give more time to recover to the visiting players suffering from a viral infection, according to PCB sources.

A viral outbreak in the England camp has left five to six of their players, some support staff members and their travelling chef indisposed, ahead of the visiting team's first Test in Pakistan in 17 years, scheduled to begin on Thursday.

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The development led to discussions between the two Boards about postponing the start of the match by one day.

Only five Engalnd players -- Joe Root, Zak Crawley, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope and Keaton Jennings -- took part in an optional training session at the Pindi stadium on Wednesday while the rest, including captain Ben Stokes, stayed back at the team hotel.

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A ceremony on Wednesday for the two captains to unveil the series trophy was postponed to give Stokes time to recover.

A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said if the match does start on Thursday it will be held from Friday with the rest of the tour itinerary unaffected.

“The two boards made the decision based on medical advice from the England doctors, which revolved around the players' health and welfare, agreeing that if the players are able to recover and England can field an eleven, the match will begin from Thursday,” the source said.

"The two Boards also agreed, subject to the England players not recovering well enough to take the field on Thursday morning, then the Test will commence on Friday and will be a five-day match."

The schedule of the second Test (December 9-13) in Multan and the third Test (December 17-21) in Karachi will remain unaffected and will be played as per original schedule.

England has already named their playing XI for the first of the three-match Test series with Liam Livingstone set to make his debut and Ben Duckett pencilled as opener with Crawley.

Veteran fast bowler James Anderson and Ollie Robinson are the two specialist fast bowler with Stokes as the other seaming option.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)