Test cricket deserves much better than this dud of a pitch
FUNNY things can happen on the last day or two of test matches in Pakistan, so we shouldn’t rush to judgment about the Rawalpindi pitch so early in the game. But it was hard not to think that the Pakistan crowd and fans round the world deserve a bit better than what we’ve seen so far.
I’m not talking about england’s batting, obviously. they were breathtaking as they raced to 657. But cricket is so much more watchable when there’s an even contest between bat and ball. And this pitch isn’t providing it.
It has always been the case that surfaces in Pakistan tend not to break up, which is why historically they have hosted so many draws — that, plus the early finishes and the Kookaburra ball, which goes soft so quickly.
Across the border in India, the red clay and soil does break up, so the spinners come into play. here in Pakistan, you’ve either got to leave more grass on the surface or make it very dry and bring the spinners into play. there has to be some kind of lateral movement. After two days, the best we’ve seen is a bit of reverse-swing.
It’s the opposite of what england are used to back home, where the ball swings for 80 overs and the seamers do most of the work. here, after a couple of overs for Jimmy Anderson and Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes had to go to his spinners early, hoping they would fill in before the ball started to reverse.
And it is why Stokes tried a few overs of bouncers towards the end. In these conditions, it is absolutely the right ploy.
not only does banging in the ball halfway down roughen it up, but you might get a glove down the leg side. And sometimes on slower pitches, it can be less easy to judge what to do with the short ball. On faster pitches, you can sway out of the way.
I thought england stuck at it quite well, despite the scorecard. But to make the best use of any reverse-swing that is on offer, you need pace. Look at the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar, who all reversed it at high speed.
england lack that, and it’s why I’d have been tempted to pick an extra quick bowler, maybe Jamie Overton, rather than have Will Jacks or Liam Livingstone down at no 8.
the Pakistan openers got their tempo spot on. When you’re facing such a big total, the temptation can be to go into your shell and just play for the draw. the other option, which they were never going to choose, was full Bazball.
they did neither, and it worked well for them. they didn’t let the spinners settle and used their feet beautifully.
Both Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-haq have good records at Rawalpindi, and it showed. the key for them is to avoid the follow-on, and they made a good start on the second afternoon.
But I do think that test cricket has to be careful. In this era of white-ball cricket, you can’t afford to have too many pitches that provide easy pickings for the batsmen. And even if something out of the ordinary happens on the last day you still want an engaging balance throughout.
Above all, I feel sorry for the bowlers. Both teams stuck at it, but Pakistan have already lost Shaheen Shah Afridi to injury, and both naseem Shah and haris Rauf are carrying niggles.
With three back-to-back games on pitches that are unlikely to help them much, if at all, it could be a long grind.