Key events
England Women have a huge game later today, an effective quarter-final against West Indies at the T20 World Cup. Here’s what Raf Nicholson has leared from the tournament to date.
Lunch
29th over: Pakistan 79-2 (Saim 40, Ghulam 29) Saim looks a bit skittish as we approach lunch. He tries to pulls Potts, is too early on the shot and bottom-edges the ball short of Jamie Smith behind the stumps.
So ends an intriguing morning session. Jack Leach, brought on inside the first half hour, took two early wickets to reduce Pakistan to 19 for two. But this used Multan pitch, while never entirely trustworthy, started to behave itself as the ball got a bit older and Saim Ayub put together an assured, positive partnership of 6o with the impressive debutant Kamran Ghulam.
So far, so goodish for Pakistan.
28th over: Pakistan 78-2 (Saim 40, Ghulam 28) Brydon Carse also comes back into the attack just before lunch. Ben Stokes is the most accomplished reverse-swing bowler in this team so I’m sure we’ll see him after lunch unless England run through Pakistan like a dose of salts. I don’t think that’s going to happen.
Carse has no slips and is generally attacking the stumps. He tries one bouncer that is ignored by Saim and goes through to Smith almost in slow motion; I wouldn’t bother, Brydon.
Saim looks for a quick single and is loudly sent back by Ghulam, then misses a loose cut stroke at a ball that’s far too close for the shot. He could easily have dragged that back onto the stumps.
27th over: Pakistan 78-2 (Saim 40, Ghulam 28) No reverse swing for Potts, but he threatens the left-handed Saim with low bounce on a couple of occasions. The second was pretty close, a late inside-edge strangling England’s LBW shout.
Potts will always be dangerous on pitches like this because he bowls so straight.
“I’ve just joined the action and am surprised to see England bowling already,” says Jeremy Boyce. “Did I miss some new Stokes mind games? Did he win the toss, elect to bat, declare at 0-0 after one ball, seeing the need to bowl a lot to take the 20 wickets, and backing his batt(er)ers to perform in their only appearance at the crease?”
Indulgent declarations are so Bazball 1.0.
Edit: It looks like Ben Stokes will not wait until after lunch to see if there’s any reverse swing. Matthew Potts is coming back into the attack.
26th over: Pakistan 75-2 (Saim 37, Ghulam 28) It looks like Ben Stokes will wait until after lunch to see if there’s any reverse swing. Leach continues and bowls another grubber that is well defened by Saim. When I say ‘grubber’ I mean it bounced around shin height, not the full Nasser. We need a different word for that, or maybe an abjective such as ‘vile’.
25th over: Pakistan 73-2 (Saim 36, Ghulam 27) Ah, Bashir has switched back to his original end. Saim almost runs himself out by trying to take a single to cover. He’s rightly sent back and has to scramble to make his ground. The umpires go upstairs to check whether his bat bounced up, but he’s okay.
Later in the over Ghulam reaches outside off stump and edges wide of slip for three. Bashir has bowled nicely this morning and probably deserves a wicket. But then Saim and Ghulam have batted nicely and probably don’t deserve to get out, so now what?
24th over: Pakistan 69-2 (Saim 35, Ghulam 24) Root replaces Bashir, who bowled a threatening spell of 8-1-17-0, althoguh technically they were two spells as he changed ends at one point. Saim drives a single to bring up a positive, clear-headed fifty partnership from 85 balls.
“Pity that you have to get up so early for your duty,” writes Krishnamoorthy V. “But the vicarious summer must feel good in this gloomy weather. Pakistan’s strategy, should one call it that, appears like the last desperate lunge of blind man’s bluff when jeering pirates have already slashed the man to a state of profuse bleeding.”
I’d say the dastardly plan is working pretty well so far.
23rd over: Pakistan 67-2 (Saim 34, Ghulam 23) Not even CricViz’s finest algorithm knows what would be a par score is on this pitch, but you suspect Pakistan would be happy with 250, thrilled with 300 and rhapsodic with 400.
Saim Ayub smiles after repelling a grubber from Leach, then plonks his front foot down and hammers a slog-sweep for four. That’s a terrific shot.
“Wasn’t there a to-do last winter that the pitch in Dharamsala was a used one?” asks John W.
Ah yes, I’d forgotten that – it was used for a Ranji Trophy game, although from memory that was three weeks before the Test rather than three days.
22nd over: Pakistan 61-2 (Saim 28, Ghulam 23) Bashir has also changed ends. “Very slow, very slow off the surface,” says Aamir Sohail when Ghulam has time to defend a nice off-break. Bashir decides to change the angle by going round the wicket to the right-handed Ghulam, but his first ball is down the leg side. He can have another go next over.
21st over: Pakistan 59-2 (Saim 28, Ghulam 21) As expected Leach has changed ends. Ghulam rocks back to force him square on the off side for three runs, which takes him into the twenties. Whisper it but batting looks almost comfortable.
20th over: Pakistan 55-2 (Saim 27, Ghulam 18) Root replaces Leach, who might be about to change ends. England will be wary of bowling Root too much, even on this pitch, because his run-scoring drops off considerably when he bowls a lot of overs, particularly in Asia.
Ghulam, who has started with impressive intent on debut, clatters three runs through the covers to bring up the Pakistan fifty. Saim drives two to deep extra cover and keeps the strike with a single off the last ball. He’s also played well, especially as he was under pressure after that wretched dismissal in the first Test.
19th over: Pakistan 48-2 (Saim 23, Ghulam 15) Saying which, Bashir gets some sharp spin to Ghulam, who inside-edges onto his stomach. He sweeps the next ball in the air for two, a premeditated and risky shot.
18th over: Pakistan 46-2 (Saim 23, Ghulam 13) Leach almost skids one through Ghulam, who defends across his front pad at the last possible moment. James Walsh (14th over) was right – though the pitch is turning more than you’d expect before lunch on day one, it’s far from a minefield.
17th over: Pakistan 45-2 (Saim 23, Ghulam 12)
16th over: Pakistan 44-2 (Saim 23, Ghulam 11) Leach continues with a very funky field for Ghulam: slip, leg slip, short leg and two short extra covers. Two singles from the over.
15th over: Pakistan 42-2 (Saim 22, Ghulam 10) Saim edges Bashir wide of Stokes at slip for a couple. I think it would have carried to gully. Leach has taken the two wickets but Bashir is probably getting more out of the pitch, particularly to the left-handed Saim. But Pakistan are starting to counter-punch and Saim back cuts a short delivery for three more. That makes it 19 runs from the last three overs, a big improvement on 23 from the first 12. Time for drinks.
14th over: Pakistan 37-2 (Saim 17, Ghulam 10) Saim flashes Leach wristily through the covers for three, then Ghulam bashed his down the ground for six! That’s a brilliant and brave shot; he’d have received all sorts of abuse had he run past the ball and been stumped.
One consequence of this pitch is that England are in serious danger of keeping up with the over rate; we’re still inside the first hour and Shoaib Bashir is about to bowl the 15th.
“Speaking as an under-the-duvet pre-dawn punter,” flutters James Walsh, “I’m enjoying this a lot more than the start of the first Test. And I don’t think there’s masses of turn…”
No you’re right; it’s hardly a bunsen. I’m probably guilty of putting two and two together to make a two-day Test.
13th over: Pakistan 27-2 (Saim 14, Ghulam 3) Saim tries to sweep Bashir and is beaten by a mile. That ball turned grotesquely. The only good thing for the batters is that, one delivery from Leach aside, the turn has been fairly slow and low.
12th over: Pakistan 23-2 (Saim 11, Ghulam 2) Forty-nine minutes into the Test match, a delivery from Leach bursts nastily at Saim, who gloves it wide of the diving short leg for a single. This is entertaining cricket but I’m not sure it passes the smell test. I guess we should reserve judgement for now.
In other news I forgot the Test Match Special overseas link, again, sorry. Here it is.
11th over: Pakistan 22-2 (Saim 10, Ghulam 2) I’m not 100 per cent sure but I think this is the first time since Melbourne 1901-02 that England have had two spinners bowling inside the first half hour of a Test match.
In the first Test there was a lot of talk of Bashir’s defensive line to the right-handers. His first ball to Ghulam is more attacking, outside off, and Ghulam pushes it for a single. Saim drives another down the ground.
10th over: Pakistan 20-2 (Saim 8, Ghulam 1) Welcome to Test cricket, Kamran Ghulam. He’s a 29-year-old right-hander with an excellent record in first-class cricket, and he gets off the mark with a slightly nervous thick edge.
WICKET! Pakistan 19-2 (Shan c Crawley b Leach 3)
Leach strikes again. Shan flicks with hard hands at a delivery that turns just enough to induce a false stroke, and Crawley – such a reliable fielder – takes a superb low catch at short midwicket.
I’m not sure whether this is a burgeoning farce or merely a reflection of Pakistan’s subterranean confidence.
Jack Leach and England have their second wicket 🏴
Pakistan captain Shan Masood departs for three after a smart catch from Zak Crawley 🙌 pic.twitter.com/WlxtVur3aR
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) October 15, 2024
9th over: Pakistan 17-1 (Saim 8, Shan 2) The arrival of Shan Masood means Bashir has two left-handers to play with. Saim is focussing entirely on defence against Bashir for now and there’s just a single to Shan in that over.
“With Leach getting that amount of movement after 30 mins, this match will be done in two days,” says Gareth Wilson. “England likely to be all out 220 off 40 overs.”
Surely they won’t try to dig in on this pitch?
8th over: Pakistan 16-1 (Saim 8, Shan 1) England appeal unsuccessfully for LBW when the captain Shan Masood tries to sweep his first ball and misses. He was outside the line. England have four catchers on the leg side for Shan: leg slip, short leg, short midwicket and short mid-on.
“What’s the story with the music between overs at Multan this morning?” asks Julian. “I’m sure I’ve already heard AC/DC and Aerosmith, which all seems a somewhat incongruous in a practically empty stadium. Are the new selectors responsible for this as well?”
Haha. Each selector gets to pick one player and two bangers for the playlist.
WICKET! Pakistan 15-1 (Shafique b Leach 7)
Tihngs are starting to happen on day six. Shafique has been bowled by a beauty from Leach, which curved onto off stump and then turned sharply to beat his defensive lunge.
7th over: Pakistan 15-0 (Shafique 7, Saim 8) Shoaib Bashir is coming as well. I wonder when England last used two spinners inside the first half hour of a Test match; not sure it has ever happened.
On Sky, Mike Atherton makes the point that Stokes is probably keeping his seamers fresh for when/if the ball reverse swings. The expectation is that it will reverse in this game because the square is much drier.
It will certainly turn, and Bashir serves notice of that by getting one to grip and beat Saim. Nicely bowled.
6th over: Pakistan 15-0 (Shafique 7, Saim 8) Jack Leach comes into the attack inside the first half hour of the game. He has a slip, short leg and short mid-on for Saim, who tries to drive the first ball and is beaten. Not a great shot. After he takes a single, Shafique clips a leg-stump full toss through midwicket for his first boundary.
Leach has a similar field for the right-handed Shafique, but with short mid-on moved to short mid-off. No sign of extravagant turn in his first over.
5th over: Pakistan 10-0 (Shafique 3, Saim 7) Potts must be a pain in the arse to face. He’s always making the batsmen play, usually from a length that brings both the edge and the front pad into play. Nag nag nag nag nag.
His third over is a maiden to Shafique, and I’m pretty sure all 18 deliveries so far have hit the bat. Jack Leach is already warming up.
“Pakistan cricket is the nation’s perfect metaphor for overnight chaos managed by a carousel of committees,” says Zain Malik. “They’ve turned up for this game like philosophers with a sledgehammer, smashing the idols of their biggest stars and conjuring a regiment of spinners on a pitch that’s been through some sort of voodoo ritual. But don’t write Pakistan off just yet. It’s out of these absurd shake-ups that their most outlandish victories often emerge.”
Quite. But can we still call them cornered tigers if they beat England with spin rather than stumpbusting pace and reverse swing?
4th over: Pakistan 10-0 (Shafique 3, Saim 7) Shafique ducks under a bouncer, the first leave of the morning session from the 23rd delivery. That tells you how straight England are bowling in an attempt to maximise the uneven bounce. How weird it is to be talking about uneven bounce in the fourth over of a Test match.
Carse puts his hands on his head when Shafique, who has started quite tentatively, inside-edges past leg stump for a single.
3rd over: Pakistan 9-0 (Shafique 2, Saim 7) Saim forces Potts crisply past point for four, making this the highest opening partnership he and Shafique have managed in nine attempts.
Potts continues to make the batters play at pretty much every delivery. The last ball of the over keeps very low; thankfully for Pakistan it wasn’t gunbarrel straight and Saim edges it well short of Smith.
“You don’t often see a sixth-day field,” says Gary Naylor, “but we have one now.”
I’d love to see some of the fields in this game. Day nine, and Alan Melville has tried literally every field known to mankind, yet Bill Edrich is still batting.
2nd over: Pakistan 5-0 (Shafique 2, Saim 3) Brydon Carse’s optimum role is as first-change enforcer, but the balance of England’s side means he’ll take the new ball in this game. Shafique is beaten by a heavy ball outside off stump and then works a single off the hip.
Saim Ayub, who played a hideous shot off Carse in the second innings last week, pulls confidently for three to get off the mark. And then there’s the first sign of uneven bounce: a shortish delivery that keeps low and is inside-edged onto the pad by Shafique.
1st over: Pakistan 1-0 (Shafique 1, Saim 0) With Woakes and Atkinson rested, Matthew Potts takes the first over for the first time in his Test career. He starts with two slips and a leg slip for Shafique, although Ben Stokes takes out the second slip after three balls.
Potts starts well, making the batters play at all six deliveries. That’s one of his great strengths: tight line, good-to-full length, always at the batter.
Here come the Pakistan openers, Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique. The first target is to reach 10. Their eight opening partnership in Tests have all ended in single figures, with a miserable average of 2.87. Yep.
“Pakistan, it seems, have taken the phrase ‘lucky number seven’ quite literally, winning the toss and tossing in not one, but s-e-v-e-n spinners,” writes Zain Malik. “Desperation? Maybe. Innovation? Definitely. The pitch? Rumored to turn faster than a drift car on a tight corner. But let’s hope we don’t get a repeat of the Pindi fiasco, where Shan and the boys brought four pacers expecting Headingley, only to find themselves bowling on something closer to a runway at Jinnah International.”
Does this constitute pitch doctoring?
“The last Test was quite the thing, huh?” says Felix Wood. “Pakistan have thrown aside all the best practice guides of how Test cricket should be done ahead of this match… is this their tribute to Bazball?”
Ha, I hadn’t thought of it like that. The trouble is we can’t give it a name as nobody knows which of the 427-man selection committee has driven this change.
Rameez Raja, talking on Sky Sports, doesn’t think much of Pakistan’s volte farce
They’re trying to change the DNA of Pakistan cricket… it’s a cocktail of confusion… this is a leap of faith… they’re trying to win at any cost… it’s a rudderless ship, I don’t know who’s in charge… there’s no consistency… this is a desperate move… I just hope for Pakistan’s sake that somehow it works.
Pakistan win the toss and bat
After picking three new spinners and a used pitch, it’s fair to say that’s an important toss for Pakistan to win.
“Yeah,” smiles Ben Stokes, “we would have batted as well.”
Team news
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.
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.
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.
England Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes (c), Smith (wk), Carse, Potts, Leach, Bashir.
Read Simon Burnton’s preview
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?”
Preamble
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
