Pakistan will again use the same ground in Multan for the second Test against England

Admin October 13, 2024

0 0 2 minutes read

Pakistan will again use the same ground in Multan for the second Test against England

Pakistan will use the same pitch twice in a row in Multan as they look to bounce back from their innings defeat against England. Industrial fans were stationed at the end of the stadium as both teams held training on Sunday after being heavily watered by ground staff after the first Test.

Jason Gillespie and Shan Masood, Pakistan’s coach and captain, looked over the pitch on Sunday morning, before Gillespie had a long chat with Tony Hemming, Australia’s PCB boss. The bowlers’ feet in the first Test looked dry and cracked, and they were dried out by the fans and the harsh sun.

Pakistan’s move is unusual, as it is rare for one country to conduct back-to-back tests. But ICC pitch rules only require “best field and off-field conditions” with no stipulation that the ground must be new or unused, and after 11 consecutive home Tests without a win, Pakistan may feel the need to try something different.

The decision to play the second Test in the same row could give England the power to select Ben Stokes, and spin could play a big role. Stokes stepped up his bowling action last week and bowled full pace in the nets on Sunday morning, suggesting he should be ready to return and could play a third-stringer role if needed.

James Anderson, who is in charge of England’s fast bowlers on the tour, told the BBC: “He looks good. He’s worked hard on his fitness and he looks as strong as I’ve ever seen him… Knowing Ben, once he’s in the game, he’s not going to stop being the kind of player he is: he’s got to Let’s wait and see what he can do in the game.

England were being tested for “wickets of consequence” after taking a 1-0 lead with two Tests remaining, and expect a low-scoring match when the second Test starts on Tuesday. The pitch gave nothing to the bowlers in the first Test, with 1,599 runs for the loss of 26 wickets – an average of 61.5 runs per wicket.

Anderson predicted that Pakistan’s plans would see spin play a bigger role, which he suggested could match England’s. “That’s a first for me in Test cricket,” he said. “If we talk about Ben’s workload and his bowling, that might play into our hands, as the spinners might play a big role… We don’t know what we’re going to get.

“When we came out of the last game, we saw it going up and down – especially on the floor – towards the back. The cracks started to open. I’m not a participant, but I don’t think you can make the cracks go back together. easily, certainly in three days you can expect it to do something without cracking again as it’s dry and hot and , you can expect spinners to play a bigger part.

There were signs of a flurry of changes on the final day of the Test as England wrapped up their victory, but Chris Woakes said he had given the “bugger all” to the bowlers. Kevin Pietersen, the former England captain, described it as a “bowler’s graveyard” on X/Twitter, and suggested that Pakistan should use it again in the second Test.

The second Test was scheduled for Karachi, but it was moved to Multan after notice due to the ongoing renovation of the National Stadium. The PCB has promised to refurbish it ahead of next year’s Champions Trophy, while Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium was absent from the England series for the same reason.

Source link

Admin October 13, 2024

0 0 2 minutes read