England must not panic after being pulverised by Pakistan in second Test – and they CAN still play spin – but Ollie Pope’s form is a worry as he blows hot and cold, writes NASSER HUSSAIN
- England and Pakistan go to the decider in Rawalpindi next week
- England were defeated by the hosts in a 152-run defeat as Pakistan leveled the series
- Ollie Pope’s form is a concern, but England should not lose hope of spin
There is no reason for England to press the panic button. When you play on a pitch that has been used for five days, the toss becomes absolutely vital – and it was a bad toss for England to lose.
As you can see from the dwindling scores during the Test match, things started to turn more and more with each innings and batting became more difficult.
But England won’t make any excuses and they will still be disappointed. The Pakistani spinners bowled the English spinners and the Pakistani batters played better spin than the English batters.
The hosts may not face conditions as extreme as these in the deciding Test in Rawalpindi, which has historically been a flat pitch.
It was about as tough as it gets for England on what was essentially a day nine pitch. But there is still plenty to work on in the English batting department under these circumstances.
England must remain calm and realize that conditions are likely to be less hostile in the future
They were defeated by 152 runs by Pakistan as the hosts leveled the series in Multan
Ollie Pope needs to find consistency. His form is developing into a concern for England
The sweep shot is an absolute must in this part of the world, but you shouldn’t worry about it too much. You still have to mix it. Take a look at how Salman batted Ali Agha in Pakistan’s second innings. He didn’t play every ball.
The Pakistani spinners are very experienced and once they know what you are going to do with each ball, they will vary their pace and line and come back to you.
Of course, if the sweep is your shot, as it was with Ben Duckett, then stick with it. You can’t criticize Duckett for sweeping out in the second innings after his century in the first. For him, a sweep is just as good as a forward defense. The same goes for Ben Stokes. Watch him play against Nathan Lyon in his great innings at Headingley in 2019, with plenty of sweeps and reverse sweeps.
But Stokes also knocked Lyon to the ground that day and every now and then you have to do that, as Brydon Carse did yesterday.
You can throw it over the top, push it into square leg for a single, or come down the field, although that carries greater risk if the ball grows big away from the bat, as Zak Crawley discovered on third evening when he was tricked by Noman.
When Crawley came out like that, he was all in. But you can come and try to get over it, so if it deceives you, you can still try to kick it away. It was a high risk shot from Crawley as Noman Ali got so much drop and turn.
In Noman and Sajid Khan, Pakistan have two very different spinners. Noman is like an old-fashioned left-arm spinner, who is slower and sometimes you can try to play him from the back foot. Sajid fires it more and England tried to work out a plan by sweeping him off his line.
There are just a few non-negotiables, such as the two shots Ollie Pope played in both innings: driving against the turn and being bowled through the gate, then chipping back to the bowler.
The series will now be decided in Rawalpindi next week
England remained in the hunt for 297 for victory but never came close to victory
This was the ninth day of use of the pitch and Pakistan’s gamble on it paid off handsomely
I just saw him play in the morning and it was full of sweeps and reverse sweeps. But he’s still poking at the ball. Compare that to Joe Root, one of England’s greatest ever spin players, who is so soft in his play and lets the ball come to him. Pope pokes at it and that is dangerous when a throw catches and turns.
His form is a concern for England. He remains a bit of a feast or famine. Just two matches ago he scored a magnificent hundred at The Oval, but he didn’t score many runs before that. There are a lot of low scores on either side of his high scores, so he needs to find consistency in his game.
Yet England should not sit too low and think: ‘We can’t play spin’. And there are still many positives to take from the game, especially the way Carse bowled throughout and how Shoaib Bashir bowled in the second innings.
Test match cricket needed such a week after 556 played 823 last week. It sets it up nicely for the decision maker in Rawalpindi.