Why England will be VERY happy with a huge development ahead of second Test against Pakistan… while captain Ben Stokes in line to make long-awaited return to the team
- The second Test will be played on the exact same pitch as the first Test
- Captain Ben Stokes returns from a hamstring injury he suffered in August
- England have a 1-0 lead in the series after a resounding win in the first Test
Tuesday’s second Test in Multan looks set to take place on the same pitch that produced a sensational innings victory for England on Friday – with Ben Stokes in line to return for his first match since July.
No one could remember whether England had ever played consecutive Tests on the same surface – not least with only three days off between matches.
But the Pakistan board’s Australian groundsman, Tony Hemming, had placed giant fans at both ends of the pitch in an attempt to dry out the pitch after heavy watering, and all indicators were that it would be used again.
The ICC Laws of the Game do not rule out such a scenario, with the heading reading: ‘It is expected that venues given the responsibility of hosting a match will provide the best possible field and outfield conditions for that match.’
Problems would only arise if the pitch proves to be sub-standard, with the spinners potentially coming into play on what will effectively be a sixth-day pitch from day one – despite some testy body language from the Pakistan head coach Jason Gillespie as he looked at the surface. on Sunday morning.
The second Test will be played on the exact same pitch where England dominated Pakistan
Brendon McCullum’s side won by an innings and 47 runs after an absurd first innings of 823/7
Another added boost for England is the imminent return of skipper Ben Stokes from injury
Considering Jack Leach took seven wickets in the first Test and performed better than any other slow bowler in the game, that shouldn’t bother England – especially with Pakistan’s first-choice spinner Abrar Ahmed still in hospital with dengue fever .
In another complication, no one can rule out the possibility that the third Test – which starts on October 24 – will also take place in Multan due to the political unrest in Rawalpindi caused by the continued incarceration of the country’s former prime minister and cricket captain Imran. Khan.
Stokes, meanwhile, bowled with real energy during a voluntary net session in England, which was attended by only a handful of players. If he returns as expected after shaking off his hamstring injury, it would likely be in place of Chris Woakes.
The skipper spent much of the first Test literally on the edge, walking along the boundary with bottles of drinks.
If and when he does bowl, it will likely be against a Pakistan side without their star batsman and former captain Babar Azam, who local media reported was dropped from the side after failing to reach 50 in his last 18 Test innings reaches. , including scores of 30 and five against England last week.
Attack leader Shaheen Shah Afridi could also miss out due to fitness issues.
England will hope to repeat their heroics from the first Test after becoming the first team in 147 years of the game’s oldest and best format to have achieved an innings victory by a team with a total of 500 or more in the first innings.
The victory was littered with other substantial achievements as Joe Root passed Alastair Cook’s English running record, Harry Brook scored their first Test triple since Graham Gooch in 1990, and a total of 823 for seven – achieved at almost five and a half over, for for goodness sake – was fourth highest in every test.