The vice-captain of Pakistan, Saud Shakeel, followed the words of his coach Jason Gillespie about Pakistan’s game plan, and said that his team is looking to use England’s tactics against them in the three-match Test series. England’s reputation for playing high-risk, high-reward cricket under current coach Brendon McCullum means Pakistan are sniffing the opportunity to lure them into making mistakes, according to Shakeel.
“England always plays attacking cricket, and that always gives you the opportunity to cause mistakes in it, and use their mistakes to stay in the game,” said Shakeel at a press conference in Multan.
Shakeel, who was Pakistan’s second highest scorer when they played against England in 2022, said that Pakistan will get inspiration from this trip, even though England beat the hosts 3-0. “The last series we played against England, there were times when we were very close to winning, like Rawalpindi and Multan, but we couldn’t finish.”
It was in Multan, where the first Test started on Monday, that Pakistan ran close to England last week, with Shakeel almost guiding his team home. Needing 355 to win in the fourth innings, Pakistan were well placed at 290 with half the team still to bat, with Shakeel knocking out 94. But Mark Wood’s two lunchtime wickets ended Pakistan’s resistance, and England eventually cruised to a 26-run victory.
The idea of exploiting mistakes in England is not central. Recently, Sri Lanka successfully managed the three-Test series in England, winning the third Test after demolishing England in each innings. Pakistan’s ability to execute such a plan cannot be guaranteed, given the recent struggles with the ball and bat, which have been badly exposed by Bangladesh.
“We struggle with the bat at times, and we can’t convert to start big scores,” Shakeel said. “That’s worrying. The series that ended is now over. Admittedly we didn’t play well there. Our focus is on what’s next.
“But we don’t follow a certain style of playing cricket, we play according to the need of any situation, which gives us flexibility.”
Pakistan were trying to build their own, something new coach Gillespie tried to eliminate. In July, he told ESPNcricinfo that he wanted his team to find an “authentic Pakistan” form of cricket, admitting he had no idea what that was.
Earlier this week, he told the The Telegraph that Pakistan will look to “hang in there, stay disciplined” and “strike at the right time”, suggesting that the quest for recognition is being temporarily shelved as results are sought for a starved Pakistan.
“The strategy is usually decided on the spot depending on how England plays,” said Shakeel. “Throwing back can work depending on the weather and the voice [that is] fixed. If a team is aggressive, it can be easy to be swayed by their style of play and over-attacking. If they attack, and we let them make their mistakes, that might work better for us.”
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