It is unusual for a similar venue to conduct consecutive evaluations, and using the same sound twice in a row is supposed to be extraordinary. James Anderson, England’s fast bowling pacer, thought the ICC might ban it, but its rules only stipulate that the host board and farmland authority must prepare the “best possible pitch”.
Stokes was one of six England players training on Sunday, and has undergone “quite a few high-intensity things” over the two days of the week as he prepares to recover from his hamstring tear. The sound was heavily watered down after the first test and has since been crystal clear through a combination of two industrial-sized fans and the tough Multan sun.
“I’ve never seen a pitch used before, used in back-to-back games, and I’ve never seen fans as big as umpires,” Stokes joked Monday. “You’d like to think he’ll offer the spinners a little more than last week when he’s used and hot. “It’s a little drier square, so you might see a little more reverse movement to get the seamers into the game. . …Hopefully, we will win the toss and the bat.”
About 90 minutes after Stokes spoke on Monday, Pakistan presented a group that includes three front-row spinners (although Abrar Ahmed, their first-choice leg-spinner, is in a medical institution with dengue) and only one chance of sewing, inside the SUV. Aamer Jamal. Azhar Mahmood, his associate mentor, mentioned that they had decided that this used to be one of the easiest ways to get 20 wickets.
“We thought about how we were going to take them,” Mahmood said. “We thought that if we used that tone [again]the thought was: ‘How can we take 20 wickets against England?’ And we thought spin was the way to do it… We want the ball to spin. We felt like we could have a home field advantage. Let’s see if it benefits us or not. “Time will tell.”
England have named two frontline spinners to Pakistan’s 3, with Jack Leach along with Shoaib Bashir and Joe Root providing a part-time possibility. But the expectation that the deteriorated surface will favor spin has allowed Stokes to return: he has pledged to be “sensible” with his bowling workload, although he has openly not performed like a professional batsman.
“Playing on a used field made the decision a little easier,” Stokes said. “I am available to bowl and when I feel the time is right to come in and make an impact, there will be no doubt in my mind that I can bowl. You might like to think about it. I might be a bit more in favor of the effect, so playing on a used field made the decision a little easier.”
Stokes’ knee trauma limited him to five overs during England’s 4-1 defeat in the Indian Republic at the start of this event, after they simply picked four frontline bowling options according to Check. He admitted that he could not find any way to bat for Pakistan without compromising England’s attack: “I had scored a few teams where I didn’t bowl, and it just didn’t work out.”
Era Stokes seemed surprised that Pakistan had decided to give importance to the same sound once again, and encouraged his group to “play what’s in front of us”. Root, meanwhile, said the outside is “clearly not going to produce the same type of game” and that trading extra support for the bowlers was “very likely”: “It can’t be flatter than last week.”
And Stokes suggests that Pakistan’s strategy was a strong emphasis on domestic merit. “If we lost 1-0 at home, we would probably go to our groundsman in the second test.” [venue] saying, ‘Can we have a little more of this, a little more of that?’ take advantage of playing at home in our favor,” he mentioned.
“If you look at the way the first Test went, if there was another wicket like that, maybe that would give us a bigger advantage, just because of the way we approached the game. Using a used pitch brings a lot more in the game for both teams, in fact, if it turns more, if it reverses more, there are more options for both teams. It could be a tactic, I’m not sure.
Matt Curler is an associate writer for ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98
