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“Yeah,” smiles Ben Stokes, “we would have batted as well.”
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Kamran Ghulam, a 29-year-old with a first-class average of 49, replaces Babar Azam and will make his Test debut. The three recalled spinners are Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Zahid Mehmood; they come in for Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and the unwell Abrar Ahmed. Including occasional bowlers like Salman Agha, Pakistan have seven spinners in the team.
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England make two changes from the first Test. Ben Stokes and Matthew Potts are in; Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson are putting their feet up.
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Pakistan Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Agha, Aamer Jamal, Sajid Khan, Noman Ali, Zahid Mehmood.
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England Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes (c), Smith (wk), Carse, Potts, Leach, Bashir.
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In using the same pitch Pakistan are, counterintuitively, breaking new ground. “We can discuss what we think it’s going to do, but we won’t really know until a day or a session has been played on it,” said Ben Stokes, who has never seen the like and no idea what to expect. “You’d like to think it will offer spinners more than it did last game. I’m not sure the bowlers will like it, but you can still see the footmarks from the last Test. Who knows what’s going to happen?”
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The more things stay the same, the more they change. Pakistan and England are back at the Multan Cricket Stadium for the second Test, playing on the same surface as last week, but Pakistan are hoping for a completely different ball game. They have recalled three spinners with a combined age of 105 and are gambling that the dead pitch of the first Test will come dramatically to life like a slasher movie villain.
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It’s quite a gamble, but maybe Pakistan don’t have much left to lose. They’ve been beaten in their last six Tests, equalling their worst-ever run, and responded to defeat in the first Test by leaving out arguably their three best players: Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. If they’re not at rock bottom, they’re certainly in the same postcode.
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Pakistan are in such a mess, in fact, that it feels inevitable they will rout England to square the series. There’s are few teams in world sport who are more dangerous when they are in complete disarray, and Pakistan will aim to play with the freedom of the cornered tiger.
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England have also made changes, with the fit-again Ben Stokes and Matthew Potts replacing Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson. Stokes will bowl a bit in an all-Durham pace attack that also includes Brydon Carse, the man who drew the short straw and will have to go again on that thing, in that heat.
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It’s common for white-ball games to be played on used pitches. But nobody can remember it happening in a Test and anything is possible over the next few days. For all we know, by days nine and ten the ball might be turning backwards. Mind the cracks.
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main events
Pakistan wins in toss and bat
After selecting three new spinners and a used pitch, it is safe to say that this is a crucial toss for Pakistan to win.
“Yes,” Ben Stokes smiled. “We would have hit the same way.”
team news
Kamran Ghulamthe 29-year-old, who averages 49 points in the first class, will make his Test debut in place of Babar Azam. The three spinners being recalled are: sajid khan, Norman Ali and Zahid Mehmood;They came for Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed who was unwell. If you include the occasional bowler like Salman Agha, Pakistan has seven spinners in the team.
England made two changes from the first Test. ben stokes and Matthew Potts It's in. Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson are stepping up.
Pakistan Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafiq, Shan Masood (c), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Agha, Aamer Jamal, Sajid Khan, Noman Ali, Zahid Mehmood.
england Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes (c), Smith (wk), Kearse, Potts, Leach, Bashir.
Read Simon Burnton's preview
By using the same pitch, Pakistan are counterintuitively breaking new ground. “We can discuss what it does, but we won't really know until the day or session is done,” Ben Stokes said. “You would like to think it will do more for the spinners than it did in the last game. I don't know if the bowlers will like it or not, but you can still see the footprints from the last Test. Who knows what will happen? I don’t understand.”
preamble
The more things remain the same, the more things will change. Pakistan and England will return to the Multan Cricket Stadium for the second Test, and although they are playing on the same ground as last week, Pakistan are hoping for a completely different pitch. They bring back three spinners with a combined age of 105 and are betting that the dead pitch from the first Test will come back to life as dramatically as the villain in a slasher movie.
It's quite a gamble, but Pakistan probably doesn't have much left to lose. They have lost their last six Tests, which is equal to their worst ever performance, and following the first Test defeat, they lost perhaps the best three of Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. They responded by having players absent. Even if you're not at rock bottom, you're definitely in the same zip code.
In fact, Pakistan are in such disarray that it feels inevitable that they will rout England to contest the series. Few teams in world sport are more dangerous than when in total disarray, but Pakistan will be looking to play with the freedom of a cornered Tiger.
England also made changes, bringing in Ben Stokes and Matthew Potts again for Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson. Stokes will bowl a bit with Alldurham's pace attack, which also includes Brydon Kearse who drew short straw, but he will have to go at it again in the heat.
White ball matches are generally played on used pitches. But since no one remembers that it happened during the test, anything can happen over the next few days. For all we know, the ball could turn backwards by days 9 and 10. Be careful of cracks.
