by Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain urged Pakistan to look at the preparation of their pitches, saying their second Test win against England on a used ground “cannot be the template”.
Pakistan leveled the three-match series against England with a convincing 152-run win in Multan, on a pitch that had already been used for the series opener, a game in which the tourists triumphed by an innings after they had scored 823 points.
The flat pitch ultimately aided the bowlers in the second Test, particularly Pakistan spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, who shared all 20 England wickets.
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Highlights from day four of the second Test between Pakistan and England as the home team leveled the series
“This cannot be the template for future cricket in Pakistan to continue playing on the same surface,” Hussain said. “You have to look at their surfaces.
“But when you find a winning formula, stick with it. Stick with this team, stick with these two spinners, stick with the batting line-up, stick with the selectors and the captain.”
“Go to Rawalpindi [for the third Test] and try to prepare the same type of pitch, one that revolves.
“Pakistan cricket and I guess Test cricket needed more this week than last week. It was much, much better to look at.”
Live Test cricket
Thursday, October 24th, 5:30 a.m
Rawalpindi Place for Third Place Test the “Flatest Track”
Looking ahead to the third Test in Rawalpindi – live on Sky Sports Cricket from 5.30 a.m., Thursday (first ball, 6 a.m.) – Early indications are that it will be another flat pitch in favor of the batters.
Pakistan have not won in their last four Tests there, including the famous loss to England in the opening Test of their 2022 tour, a match in which Ben Stokes’ side scored 506 runs on the opening day.
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Highlights from day one of the first Test in Rawalpindi of 2022 as England reached a record of 506-4
Pakistan also lost two consecutive Tests against Bangladesh in August, the first Test in which 1,013 combined first-innings runs were scored, a loss of 16 wickets.
“It was the flattest track you can imagine,” said former Pakistan women’s international Urooj Mumtaz.
“They tried to grow some grass on it [for the Bangladesh Tests]but it was still very, very flat and didn’t offer the seam movement they were hoping for – although the Pakistan bowlers didn’t bowl that well and didn’t make particularly good use of the conditions.
“I don’t know how much it will change because that hasn’t been the case in the recent past.”
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After his side’s second Test loss to Pakistan, England men’s Test head coach Brendon McCullum says the Pakistan spinners were “simply outstanding” and comments on the condition of the pitch
Whatever pitch they are ultimately presented with in Rawalpindi, it is likely that Pakistan will field an extra seamer in place of leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood, who bowled just six overs in the second Test.
Aamer Jamal was the only pace option in their attack while Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah were dropped in the second game of the series in favor of a team with a total of seven front spinners.
“Some will say that the fact that they won justifies their team selection, but I don’t agree with that at all,” Hussain said. “You still need a balanced team.
“I don’t want everyone to come away saying, ‘This is it, we’ve solved it,’ because you may not be able to reproduce these conditions.”
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First innings centurion Ben Duckett fell to a two-ball duck in the second over as Sajid Khan’s bowling continued to haunt England
“How do they continue the progress of these two spinners who are bowling so beautifully here? How do they provide seats for Naseem and Shaheen? This country has produced some great fast bowlers, so don’t just say, ‘We’re leaving.’ with spin now’.
“They started with green pitches against Bangladesh, now we are playing on rotating pitches. And that’s a problem in Pakistan cricket… when they lose, they change the captain, they change the coach, they change the selectors, they change the chairman, they change the pitches.
“And just as you don’t sink too low when you lose, you also shouldn’t rise too high when you win. Are you trying to figure out how we can improve from this position?”
Masood praises debutant Kamran after ‘terrible’ criticism
Babar Azam was another notable omission from the Pakistan team in the second Test as the former captain was ruled out after a run without a Test fifty dating back to December 2022.
Kamran Ghulam came into the game and scored his 100th goal on his debut, with captain Shan Masood critical of the turmoil surrounding selection after the team’s series-leveling win.
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Shoaib Bashir was the bowler who finally defeated Kamran Ghulam for 118 after the Pakistan debutant scored a superb maiden century
“I read some things that were terrible even before he played his first Test match, so I can’t even imagine the pressure someone can be under,” Masood said.
“It is never easy to replace one of the best batsmen in the world.
“But we were all behind him and from the start he seemed to belong. To get this century is something special.”
The Pakistan captain added: “You have to applaud the group. They were hungry.”
“Three years and 11 months [without a home Test win]that creates hunger. You can’t doubt the boys’ performance, you can’t doubt their dedication.
“It will be special for everyone because it comes after some difficult times.”
First test: Multan – 7th-11th October – England won by an innings and 47 runs
Second test: Multan – 15th-19th October – Pakistan won by 152 runs
Third test: Rawalpindi – 24-28 October
Watch the third and final Test between Pakistan and England live from 5.30am on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event ahead of first ball on Thursday October 24 at 6am when the teams travel to Rawalpindi.
