There is a fine line between maximum preparation and disorientation, and Pakistan is trying to ensure it walks on the right side. With less than 24 hours to go until the second Test, Pakistan are yet to name a final XI, wanting to gather as much information as possible about what the Newlands surface will do. However, the later they leave it, the more difficult it will be to prove that the visitors have a team they will feel comfortable with heading into the match.
Captain Shan Masood admitted that balancing the team was “complicated”. “We’d like to take one last look at the field,” he said. “It looks a little different, less grassy. South Africa have had the luxury of having a training session before us. We would like to take our time and see what the best possible XI is.”
The Newlands surface is under scrutiny following what happened in the previous test held here. In the first Test for new fielder Braam Mong, India beat South Africa in a game that lasted just 100 overs. The fast bowlers dominated the game, with uneven bounce between bat and ball, with no spin; The pitch received a rating of “unsatisfactory”.
This being the same fielder’s second test, interest in the nature of this strip is high on both sides, and Temba Bavuma was half-jokingly told that he was “not allowed to talk about the field”. In recent days, the strip where the Test will be played has had a significant amount of grass removed, with heavy rollers running over the surface several times.
Either way, South Africa have announced their team, with the entry of spinner Keshav Maharaj. But it is a little more complex for Pakistan. Masood noted that one of South Africa’s strengths was their versatile bowling and deep batting line-up, and said it all came down to “Rabada on 10”, following his fourth innings heroics at Centurion.
If Pakistan are to play a specialist bowler, it will invariably be at the expense of a seam bowler. That leaves them with just three seamers, whom Masood seemed reluctant to commit to.
“South Africa still have four seamers playing,” Masood said. “They have the luxury of having a lot of versatile players in the team. Mulder, Jansen, Bosch, so they can afford to make those decisions. For us, it will be a little more complicated. We still believe that pace will play an important role in the decision.” Playing in these conditions there was a pattern that was successful for us. [Salman] Agha bowled very well in Australia and takes that forward with us. We’ll have to look at it and probably make a decision in the evening.
“It’s encouraging to compete, but we have to be ruthless and we have to cross that line somewhere. There is a lot of potential on that side, and if we don’t cross the line, we are not taking advantage of our talent and ability.” justice.”
Shan Masood wants his team to do more than simply occupy dominant positions in matches.
To complicate matters further, Aamer Jamal, who played the least significant role among the quicks in Centurion for Pakistan, is their only all-rounder, with Masood effectively confirming his place in the XI.
“Aamer brings the team together. He is a very important player in the Test team in the future. That number 8 position where you can bat like a very decent batsman and bowl like a proper fast bowler. Unfortunately, the match situation was such Apart from his first stint at Centurion, he didn’t really have a chance. He was brought in at a time when we were just banking on having something different, maybe hit the wicket and force Rabada or Jansen to do something else. But we hope that. play more on this surface.”
It means that whatever path Pakistan takes, there will be compromises one way or the other. But Masood said Pakistan had been encouraged by the way they competed against the team that is “No 1” in Test cricket. But as Pakistan has let slip a series of dominant positions in the last nine Tests, seven of which it lost, it understands that trust in a side or a system can crumble if there are no results to back it up.
“You want to compete against the best and win against the best,” he said. “It’s encouraging to compete, but we have to be ruthless and we have to cross that line somewhere. There is a lot of potential on that side, and if we don’t cross the line, we are not taking advantage of our talent and ability.” Justice only comes from caring, and yes, we all make mistakes and sometimes we don’t cross this line, but I really believe that this side has the capacity and people have seen that there is much more to this side than the other. the results suggest.”
Moments after Pakistan finished training, the pitch unconventionally received another heavy dose of watering under a scorching sun. After that, the ground crew threw a white sheet over the strip and the two surrounding it. The secrets of this Newlands pitch remain hidden overnight, although even when it was exposed, few (especially in the Pakistani camp) seemed to really know what to expect from it.
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