LAWRENCE BOOTH: England preparations affected as flight delayed due to fog in Multan

England arrived in Multan exhausted but jubilant, hoping for the unsuccessful weather where Pakistan came up short in the first Test and threw a monkey wrench into the Bazball works.

Plans to settle quickly before Friday’s second game were dashed when the team’s chartered flight from Islamabad was delayed for three and a half hours due to fog in Multan.

And there were fears that a typical day of play here could be even shorter than in Rawalpindi, where an average of just 78 overs (12 short of the daily allowance) were possible due to the early sunset.

Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum must decide how much to play for the England team that passed the first Test ignoring convention in their impressive display against Pakistan.

Preparations for the second Test were affected as the England flight from Islamabad was delayed for three and a half hours due to fog at Multan.

Multan is located on the banks of the Chenab River, and the mist that forms every morning does not change easily. It also gets smoggy: The city’s air quality registered on an app as “very unhealthy.”

Multan cricket ground has not held a test in 16 years, and local journalists are baffled that it has been chosen now. But Lahore was ruled out due to winter smog, and England must once again prove their resilience as they aim to clinch the series against opponents still reeling from the events in Rawalpindi.

“England are introducing a new style of cricket to the world,” Pakistan wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan said after his team’s impressive 74-run defeat on Monday. ‘Pakistan cannot change its game overnight.’

As the hosts worry about how to counter England’s aggression and what kind of delivery to set up, Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum must decide how much to play with the team that passed the first Test ignoring convention.

Ben Foakes has recovered from illness and is a direct swap for Liam Livingstone, whose tour ended with a knee injury. He will also get the gloves back from Ollie Pope, who proved to be a more than capable substitute, with six catches and one hit, not to mention his first innings century.

Ben Foakes (pictured) will replace Liam Livingstone, whose tour ended due to injury.

England will have to make a decision on whether to withdraw fast bowler Mark Wood

A more difficult question will be whether to recall speed bowler Mark Wood, recovered after suffering a hip injury during the T20 World Cup, and capable of the kind of short-pitch hostility that undermined the start of Pakistan’s chase on Sunday night. night.

England felt a stronger light at times in Rawalpindi, with Stokes bowling just 11 overs in the match until a typical lung-bursting effort on the final afternoon.

And that could mean Wood replaces Will Jacks, who picked up six wickets in Pakistan’s first innings with his breaks, but left at 4.28 throughout the Test and went unused after lunch on the final day.

One thing is clear: neither Jimmy Anderson nor Ollie Robinson, who heroically bowled for four wickets in Pakistan’s second innings, will want to step aside.

Less than a year ago, when England management publicly criticized his fitness, the suggestion that Robinson could play back-to-back Tests in conditions as tough as this would have been ridiculed. But now he’s a different beast, and he’s ready to push himself again.

Neither Jimmy Anderson (centre) or Ollie Robinson (right) will want to step aside after both heroically bowled for four wickets in Pakistan’s second innings during the first Test.

“I woke up in the final morning and I didn’t feel sore,” he said, after his gorilla spell the night before. ‘That’s a great sign of where my body is. I hope I’m ready to go.

“All the hard work I’ve put in over the last 18 months, the dark places I’ve been, to come here to Pakistan and for us to take 20 wickets on that ground is my proudest moment as an England cricketer.” .

And Robinson spoke for the team when he insisted they could “win at any pitch, score 1,000 runs and take 20 wickets.” He added: ‘The belief we have is unrivaled. I have never seen anything like it.

Anderson, who has been on the pitch the longest, said: “The guys say it’s the best win away from home, but I can’t remember much better than that at home either, to be honest.”

‘On the morning of the game, we didn’t know if we were going to have 11 players on the field. But the guys just got down to business, and there were no complaints. Rooty was off the field every half hour throwing up. Forcing a score at that wicket required an absolutely mammoth effort from everyone.