Pak vs Eng, 1st Test – Olly Stone leaves Pakistan tour to get married this weekend

The date of Stone's return is unconfirmed and may depend on the status of England's other fast bowlers after the first Test. But with a tight squeeze between his wedding and the second Test on Tuesday, it is unlikely he will be there. Carse, Gus Atkinson and Chris Woakes are the three seamers selected for the first Test, with Matthew Potts the other fast bowler in the squad.

The English management is believed to be happy to see Stone leave Pakistan as he was not included in recent central contracts and his marriage was arranged long before his recall. Before the tour he spoke to Rob Key and Brendon McCullum – England's chief executive and coach respectively – who agreed he should go home to get married.

“We booked the wedding on the basis that I only played for Notts at the time,” Stone recently told the BBC. “Jess said she was happy to postpone the wedding and I insisted on keeping it where it was if possible. For what she gave up and sacrificed for me, I thought the least I could do was try to make it work.”

In an earlier era, seamer Tony Pigott briefly postponed his own wedding to take part in his only Test on England's 1984 tour of New Zealand. More recently, contracted players have postponed weddings due to clashes: Joe Root said Saturday that he and his wife Carrie had postponed their weddings “three times due to different tours.”

Root said Stone would leave the tour with the best wishes of his teammates. “It’s a special time in everyone’s life,” he said. “I'm really happy for him. I'm sure he's completely beside himself with everything that's going on, but it will be very special for him – and his wife – to start a new chapter in his life. We will all eventually serve him some cold water and celebrate.”