England will head into Tuesday’s second Test against Pakistan hopeful that Ben Stokes can return from injury and intrigued by the decision to play the match on the same surface that produced their historic victory last week.
As Stokes underwent a rigorous bowl on Sunday morning to show he had fully recovered from his hamstring injury, and Pakistan’s Australian outfielder Tony Hemming set up giant fans at each end of the field in a attempt to dry it, the Multan International Stadium was a blur. of activity.
Adding to the chaos, Pakistan coach Jason Gillespie could be seen gesticulating sadly as he and captain Shan Masood pored over a strip imposed on them by the board’s new selection panel.
Equally controversial was the fall of their number one batsman and former captain Babar Azam, whose scores of 30 and five in the first Test took his half-century-less sequence to 18 innings. Once again, Gillespie and Masood had no say in the matter.
Frankly, England will be delighted that Babar, Pakistan’s biggest sports celebrity, has been dropped for the rest of the series, along with new couple Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. And with first-choice player Abrar Ahmed still in hospital with dengue, the home team will include at least four changes from the team that lost on Friday by an innings and 47. Even by Pakistani cricket standards, all He seems a little crazy. .
England hopeful Ben Stokes can return from injury against Pakistan
Pakistan has taken the decision to do without number one batsman and former captain Babar Azam.
As England searched for the victory that would secure a third successive victory in the series, their selection problems were mercifully simple.
If Stokes, deemed “ready to go” by Jimmy Anderson, England’s bowling coaching adviser, wakes up this morning feeling unconcerned about his training, he will play his first Test since July, against the West Indies at Edgbaston, and add power and charisma to a The team was already buoyed by the exciting form of their 1-0 lead.
Ollie Pope would hand over the captain’s armband after winning three of his four Tests in charge, but averaging just 27 with the bat, while Chris Woakes would be the most likely to make way, despite a solid performance in his first try abroad for three and one and a half years. However, it’s clear that Stokes’ reintegration is a no-brainer.
“It looks great,” Anderson said. “It was disappointing to pick up that injury in the summer, so he has worked incredibly hard and looks fitter than ever.” “The ball is coming out very well, so I hope it will be ready this week.”
James Anderson stated that Stokes looks “as fit as I’ve ever seen him” as his return approaches.
Stokes underwent a rigorous bowl as he sought to prove he had recovered from injury.
Stokes’ first task, assuming his body plays the ball, will be to win the pitch and the bat on a pitch that will enter its sixth day of use and, in theory, should help the spinners.
No one could remember if England had ever played successive Tests on the same surface, especially with only three days between matches. And while Anderson admitted he thought “there might be a rule” against such a practice, the ICC’s playing regulations only state that host venues must “present the best possible field and outfield conditions for that match.”
Above all, Pakistan’s junta’s decision smacks of desperation. Traumatized by England’s 823 for seven to five and a half over in the first Test, they wanted to avoid serving another pancake.
However, if the reused pitch changes, it is England who have the best spinner in Jack Leach, after his seven wickets in the first Test. And if uneven bounce enters the equation, their seamers – led by the pace and threat of Brydon Carse – look better equipped than Pakistan’s to exploit it.
“It’s his decision, his conditions, his home game,” Anderson said, a little bewildered. ‘They can do whatever they want. I don’t know if it surprises me or not, honestly.
“I’m not sure how well they can prepare a different type of pitch than the one we got last week, so probably the best way to find a resulting pitch is to use the same one.” They’ve watered it and tried to repair it as best as possible, so we’re not sure exactly what we’re going to find. But one would hope it wouldn’t be as flat as last week.
England will certainly not be intimidated by the presence in Pakistan’s 16-man squad of three debutants – wicketkeeper Haseebullah Khan, left-arm spinner Mehran Mumtaz and batting all-rounder Kamran Ghulam.
Pakistan coach Jason Gillespie could be seen gesturing sadly as he pored over a strip imposed on them by the board’s new selection panel.
And the retirements of seamer Mohammad Ali and off-spinner Zahid Mehmood will only remind tourists of their 3-0 victory here two years ago, when Ali’s four wickets cost 65 apiece and Mehmood cost almost seven an over. Pakistan seems to be throwing all its pieces in the air and hoping they land in a coherent order.
Anderson, meanwhile, insisted the fuss over his late arrival at the first test due to his golf commitments at St Andrews was much ado about nothing.
“I didn’t accept the invitation until I spoke to Baz (McCullum),” he said. ‘I am not fully employed by the ECB. He was fine with it, so I was fine with it. He was still in contact with the players and helped them from afar. We have a great group of coaches here that did an incredible job.
‘On the last tours I did we didn’t have a bowling coach. It’s good that the boys take some responsibility. In the end it didn’t matter, right?
It will be a surprise if, at the end of this match, England are not equally relaxed.