Pakistan's painstaking efforts to emulate Multan in Rawalpindi
There can be nothing more terrible for a cricket team than to lose sense of what it stands for. Pakistan, for the last three years, have been found wandering as they searched for their identity or a template that perfectly married the conditions and the resources for them to win at home. The seismic changes brought in by the humiliating loss in the first Multan Test pushed Pakistan to a template and after it resulted in an elusive Test win at home, they now seem hell-bent on sticking to it.
After Pakistan's first win in a Test at home in three years and eight months, Shan Masood highlighted the need to understand the idiosyncrasies of each venue so he can line-up bowling attacks - according to the demands of the venue they are playing at - to take 20 wickets across the country. However, it seems that Pakistan are happy to go with one-size-fits-all approach as for the past three days, painstaking efforts have been underway in Rawalpindi to emulate the pitch on which Pakistan beat England by 152 runs in the second Test.
The Pindi Cricket Stadium has historically been a seamer-friendly venue. Since the return of Tests here in 2019, the spinners have averaged 50 and the faster bowlers have taken a wicket for every 34 runs. However, the Pakistan Cricket Board's tinkering with the very characteristics of the surface for the Tests against Australia in March 2022 and England in December 2022 turned it into one of the flattest pitches around the globe, with England racking up over 657 in 101 overs on their last tour.
Aaqib Javed, one of the three newly-appointed selectors in now five-member committee, and three to four cricketers from a local club rolled their arms on the pitch for the third Test on Sunday to gauge the amount of turn on offer. They bowled to Aleem Dar, who retired as an international umpire earlier this year, and is now part of Pakistan's selection committee.
After that, the groundstaff deployed gas heaters on one side of the pitch and industrial-sized fans and windbreakers on each end to dry the surface. The fans were remained in place on Monday and Tuesday.
"If you look at the difference between Multan and Pindi, there's a difference of climate," Saud Shakeel, Pakistan's Test vice-captain, said after Pakistan's training session on Tuesday. "Multan is warmer and more humid compared to Pindi. Pindi favours fast bowlers slightly and has more bounce, compared to Multan. The groundsman prepares according to that, and I think that's what causes the changes in the pitch.
"But the way the pitch looks and the success we got in the second Test, we'll try for a similar kind of pitch that favours us and helps us win this game."
The square of the Pindi Cricket Stadium is lush green with only three strips - one at either end to be used as a practice pitch for each team and the Test pitch - shaved. It is understood that the reason behind leaving heavy grass on the square is to deprive England pacers of reverse swing and keep the ball hard so it assists spinners with sharp turn for a longer period.
England have responded to these developments by naming three specialist spinners - with the recall of Rehan Ahmed. Their pace attack comprises Gus Atkinson, who played the first Test, and Ben Stokes, who returned to cricket in the last Test after nine weeks and bowled only 10 overs which were equally split across the two innings.
Pakistan are yet to announce their side for the decisive Test. They have named their line-ups on the eve of the first two Tests and are expected to keep up with the tradition.
"I can't say at the moment, because we haven't discussed this," Shakeel said about how Pakistan's combination for the third Test could look like. "If there's a spinning pitch, we may go with three spinners again."
The third Test begins on Thursday (October 24).
Post a Comment