England selected three spinners for the third and decisive Test against Pakistan, as well as seeing hot air blowing from patio heaters as they got their first look at the pitch being used for the match. The wicket was broken by two industrial fans, but “it was clear there were some marks with pitchforks”. The resulting damage was concentrated in the areas where their spinners would bowl.
The team held its first training session in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, giving a first glimpse of the playing surface. “There's not too much grass to hold it all together,” Ben Stokes said. “Obviously there are some rakes in place. It will be interesting to see how it goes. You might think the rake will help the spin. If you look down the pitch, you'll see that Pakistan's spinners are either I can pretty much guess whether it will be operated from the end.”
Stokes reiterated that he had no problem with Pakistan's attempts to manipulate the pitch to their advantage, adding that while there was clear evidence of violence on both sides, it was concentrated in “certain areas. “There is,” he said. These are believed to be aimed at supporting Pakistan's spin duo Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, who took all 20 wickets for England in the second Test last week.
Pakistan named three specialist spinners for that match, but leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood bowled only six innings while Noman and Sajid got down in 87.5 overs. They are likely to announce their squad on Wednesday and were expected to leave out Zahid.
England's surprise decision to use a leg-spinner for Rehan may prompt them to reconsider. “If you're going to choose three spin options, you want to choose someone who isn't extravagant, but who can break through the game when you feel like one might be a little too easy at the end,” Stokes said. “Pakistan played against leg-spinners last week and could only bowl a few overs, but it's better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them.”
In Multan, England felt that the pale, dry grass across the middle roughened up the ball and helped encourage reverse swing, but the fact that the Rawalpindi ground had no such aids shifted their focus to seam bowling. It helped distract me from it. “The reasoning behind the three spinners was that as the game progressed, they would probably be in the game more,” Stokes said. “Also, there's a lot of greenery in the outfield, so they're probably going to have a hard time getting a reverse swing. We're just looking at who we think will be effective as the game progresses.”
“,”Credit”:””}”>
quick guide
England national team plays against Pakistan
show
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.
Brydon Kearse and Matt Potts are out of the squad, with Gus Atkinson returning as the only specialist seamer. Stokes experienced an unusually long period of bowling at the net on Tuesday, but the selection feels he can contribute more than the five overs per innings he achieved in the second Test after returning from a hamstring injury. It shows that there is.
“I’m glad I got through it,” he said. “In training, I practiced at my own pace and bowled twice.As one of only two seamers after joining the company, I feel that I can maximize my abilities this week compared to last week.'' I am sure.”
