Pakistan will use the same Multan pitch for the second Test running, hoping for a better response to their innings defeat at the hands of England. Industrial-sized fans were erected at each end of the pitch as both teams undertook optional training sessions on Sunday after it was heavily watered by ground staff in the wake of the first Test.
Pakistan’s coach Jason Gillespie and captain Shan Masood inspected the pitch on Sunday morning, after which Gillespie had a long conversation with Tony Hemming, Australian head curator at the PCB. Bowlers’ footmarks in the first Test appeared dry and cracked and were further dried by fans and sun.
Pakistan’s decision is unusual, not least because it is rare for the same venue to stage consecutive Tests. But ICC’s pitch regulations only require the “best possible pitch and outfield conditions” with no stipulations that the surface must be fresh or unused and after 11 consecutive home Tests without a win, Pakistan may feel the need to try something different.
He might opt to play the second Test on the same strip, which could allow England a chance to include Ben Stokes, with spin likely to have an even bigger part to play. Stokes has worked up his bowling workloads in the past week and bowled full pace in the nets on Sunday morning, so he should be fit to return and could play the role of a third seamer if required.
These comments have come from James Anderson, who is tasked with running the fast bowlers on this tour for the BBC: “He looks great. He has worked hard on his fitness and is looking as strong as I’ve ever seen him… Knowing Ben, once he gets into the game, there will be no stopping him. He’s just that sort of player. He’s good to go: we’ll just have to wait and see what he can do in the game.”
England were prepared for “result wickets” after taking a 1-0 lead with two Tests to play, and are expecting a lower-scoring game when the second Test starts on Tuesday. The pitch offered little for bowlers in the first Test, where 1,599 runs flowed for the cost of 26 wickets average of 61.5 runs per wicket.
And the Pakistan plans, according to Anderson, will mean more spin for sure, which could play into the hands of the visitors: “That’s a first for me in Test cricket.” “When we’re talking about Ben’s workloads and his bowling, it might play into our hands with that, with the spinners potentially playing more of a part… We don’t know what we’re going to get.”.
“Going off the last game, we did see it go up and down – mainly down – towards the back end. The cracks started opening up. I’m no groundsman, but I don’t think you can make cracks go back together that easily, certainly in three days. You’d expect it to do something off the cracks and with it being dry and hot again, you’d expect the spinners to play more of a part.”
There were some signs of variable bounce by the final day of the Test as England wrapped up their win but Chris Woakes said it has offered a “bugger all” for bowlers. Former England captain, Kevin Pietersen, described it as a “bowlers’ graveyard” on X/Twitter and suggested that Pakistan should re-use it for the second Test.
The second Test was originally scheduled to be played in Karachi but was shifted on short notice to Multan as the National Stadium was undergoing renovation. The PCB has assured it would give it a “major facelift” as part of its preparation for the Champions Trophy next year, and Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium was ruled out for the England series for the same reason.
