Pakistan vs England Archives

Pakistan vice-captain banks on spin strategy in England series decider

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s vice-captain, Saud Shakeel, expressed confidence in the team’s spin strategy with the hope of replicating the success of the Multan Test in the upcoming third Test against England.

The three-match Test series is currently levelled 1-1 and the deciding third match will be played from 24 October to 28 October at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Pakistan suffered a humiliating defeat by an innings and 47 runs in the series opener. The home side made an array of changes for the remainder of the series, including dropping their star batter Babar Azam and ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Domestic performer Kamran Ghulam made his long-awaited debut during the second Test against England, while spin bowlers Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Zahid Mahmood made their return to the Test side.

The changes proved fruitful as Kamran scored a century on his debut, while Sajid and Noman shared 20 wickets to steer Pakistan to their first Test victory at home since February 2021.

Saud Shakeel, while addressing a press conference on Tuesday, remained optimistic that the groundsmen will make a spin-friendly pitch in Rawalpindi that will assist the home team.

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“Look, in my opinion, considering the type of pitch we’re seeing and the success we had in the second match, we’ll try to prepare a similar pitch that favours us,” said Saud.

“Multan has a bit more heat and humidity compared to Rawalpindi. Pindi generally favours fast bowlers, and you can get a bit more bounce there compared to Multan.

“Keeping these factors in mind, the groundsmen are preparing accordingly, ensuring that heaters and fans are needed due to the conditions. As it appears, the pitch looks like it will be spin-friendly.”

The left-hander praised spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali for their impressive comeback in the second Test against England, expressing high hopes for them to help the team win the series.

“Both of them were under pressure as they were making a comeback to the team. However, they showed that they have significant first-class experience backing them,” Saud added.

“Hopefully, both will contribute in the same way in the third match to help the team win.”

READ: England make two changes to Playing XI for third Pakistan Test

England make two changes to Playing XI for third Pakistan Test

LONDON: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Tuesday, announced their Playing XI for the third Test against Pakistan, making two changes to the lineup.

After a crushing 152-run defeat in the second Test against Pakistan on a spin-friendly pitch in Multan, England opted to add leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed to their Playing XI for the series decider.

The final Test is scheduled to be played in Rawalpindi from 24-28 October and the pitch is expected to assist spin bowlers.

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Rehan will play his first Test since playing against India back in February. He will join fellow spinners Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach, who played in the earlier two matches of the series.

Meanwhile, pace bowler Gus Atkinson will also return to the side for the third Test after missing out in the second match. He took four wickets in England’s dominant first Test victory.

Brydon Carse, who made his debut in the first Test, and Matthew Potts who played the second Test, will sit out of the final of the three-match series.

England Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.

READ: Jos Buttler to miss ODI series against West Indies

Pakistan suffer major blow ahead of third England Test

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan has suffered a major blow to their preparations for the upcoming third Test against England as pace bowler Mir Hamza is unlikely to participate in the match due to an injury.

The left-arm pacer has complained of a hip injury, which has cast doubt over his participation in the Rawalpindi Test.

The injury occurred during a practice session, where Hamza was unable to bowl, raising concerns about his fitness. The team management is closely monitoring his condition.

The three-match Test series is currently levelled 1-1 and the deciding third match will be played from 24 October to 28 October at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Pakistan suffered a humiliating defeat by an innings and 47 runs in the series opener, consequently, the home side made an array of changes including dropping their star batter Babar Azam and ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi.

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Experienced wicketkeeper batter Sarfaraz Ahmed and Naseem Shah were the other two key players dropped from the national team’s squad for the remainder of the series.

Domestic performer Kamran Ghulam made his long-awaited debut, while spin bowlers Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Zahid Mahmood made their return to the Test side.

The changes proved fruitful as Kamran scored a century on his debut, while Sajid and Noman shared 20 wickets to steer Pakistan to their first Test victory at home since February 2021.

Squads:

Pakistan: Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Haseebullah (wk), Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha and Zahid Mehmood.

England: Ben Stokes (c), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.

READ: PCB announces free entry on first day of third Pakistan-England Test

PCB announces free entry on first day of third Pakistan-England Test

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday announced free entry for spectators on the first day of the upcoming third Test match between Pakistan and England.

The series is currently levelled 1-1 and the deciding third match will be played from 24 October to 28 October at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

The cricket board announced the decision through its social media accounts with a post stating “FREE entry for fans to Premium Enclosures on the first day of the third #PAKvENG Test in Rawalpindi.”

For the unversed, Pakistan suffered a humiliating defeat by an innings and 47 runs in the series opener, consequently, the home side made an array of changes including dropping their star batter Babar Azam and ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Experienced wicketkeeper batter Sarfaraz Ahmed and Naseem Shah were the other two key players dropped from the national team’s squad for the remainder of the series.

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Domestic performer Kamran Ghulam made his long-awaited debut, while spin bowlers Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Zahid Mahmood made their return to the Test side.

The changes proved fruitful as Kamran scored a century on his debut, while Sajid and Noman shared 20 wickets to steer Pakistan to their first Test victory at home since February 2021.

Squads:

READ: Former Pakistan captain appointed as head coach of Bangla Tigers

Former legend questions England’s attacking approach after Pakistan loss

Legendary England batter Geoffrey Boycott has raised concerns over the Ben Stokes-led team’s attacking approach, blaming it for the recent loss against Pakistan in the second Test of the ongoing three-match series.

The English team failed to counter Pakistan’s spin attack in Multan as Sajid Khan and Noman Ali shared 20 wickets to steer the hosts to a 152-run victory.

Boycott wrote an article in the British newspaper The Telegraph, raising concerns over the batting approach of English batters on the spin-friendly pitches.

“If our guys are honest with themselves as a team they should be asking why on big spinning pitches do they have these big collapses?” Boycott asked. “One guy will get a big score like Ben Duckett in the first innings but as a unit, the top order tends to crumble.”

The former captain slammed England’s aggressive batting approach for their failure against good quality spin bowling.

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Boycott acknowledged that this approach works well on flat pitches but the batters need to find a way to dominate on spin-friendly tracks.

“I think they have these failures because the players have only one way of batting which is attack, attack, attack to get on top of the opposition bowlers and bully them into submission,” he added.

“That has worked a lot of times on flat or pretty good batting pitches and that attitude and skill has transformed English cricket.”

“Most of the time it has been exciting and winning cricket which is brilliant to watch, so none of us wants to complain or get angry when they lose.

“But we must hope that in defeat they look at how to improve because if they don’t then other countries will prepare more and more spinning pitches when they play England.”

READ: Babar Azam’s father addresses fans amid his son’s recent struggles

Mohammad Amir comes out in support of Babar Azam

Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir threw his weight behind under-fire Babar Azam after Pakistan’s long-awaited Test victory at home.

A fierce spin attack on Friday, powered Pakistan to their first victory at home in Test cricket since their win against South Africa back in February 2021 when they thumped England by 152 runs in the second Test of the three-match series.

Ahead of the aforementioned fixture, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made four surprising changes, including dropping their star batter Babar Azam, who has not crossed the fifty-run barrier in the format since December 2022.

Consistent domestic performer Kamran Ghulam, who came in as Babar’s replacement, smashed a well-crafted century on debut, pivotal in guiding Pakistan to a formidable total in the first innings.

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Ghulam’s century made things worse for Babar as social media trolls targetted the latter, claiming that the national team eventually won at home after he was dropped.

This did not sit well with experienced pacer Mohammad Amir, who despite being a a vocal critic of Babar Azam in the past, supported the star batter amid social media trolling.

“Please stop with these petty talks that Babar wasn’t in the team, that is why we won. We won because of better strategy and took advantage of playing on home ground,” wrote Amir on X, formerly Twitter.

He then went on to urge fans to discuss a player’s performance instead of getting “personal”.

“Please don’t get personal with your players. Criticize their performance, but avoid personal remarks,” he added.

READ: Uncapped spinner replaces Shakib in Bangladesh Test squad

Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi comment on Pakistan’s victory over England

Pakistan’s star cricketers Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi extended their congratulations to the national team following their dominant victory over England in the recently concluded second Test on Friday.

The Shan Masood-led team defeated England by 152 runs to level the three-match series and claim their first Test victory at home since February 2021.

Pakistan made four changes in their Playing XI for the second Test after the crushing loss in the first match, including dropping star players like Babar and Shaheen.

Consequently, Kamran Ghulam made his long-awaited debut, while spin bowlers Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Zahid Mahmood made their return to the Test side.

Following Pakistan’s victory, Shaheen Afridi took to his official X (formerly Twitter) account and congratulated the team, while praising the Kamran, Sajid and Noman for their impressive performances.

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“Fantastic win at home! Congratulations to Pakistan. Noman Ali and Sajid Khan were exceptional, along with a dream debut for Kamran Ghulam and a massive contribution from Salman Ali Agha. Keep it going, Inshallah,” he posted.

Meanwhile, Babar Azam posted a picture of the team along with a heartfelt message for his teammates.

“Fantastic win. Proud of the effort and spirit,” Babar posted.

It’s worth noting that Noman and Sajid took eleven and nine wickets respectively, becoming only the second Pakistani pair to share 20 wickets in a Test match.

Meanwhile, Kamran Ghulam played a gutsy knock of 118 runs in Pakistan’s first innings.

READ: Ben Stokes apologises for his ‘body language’ in defeat against Pakistan

Ben Stokes apologises for his ‘body language’ in defeat against Pakistan

England captain Ben Stokes has stated that he apologised to his teammates for showing his frustrations during his side’s crushing 152-run defeat in the second Test against Pakistan in Multan.

The visitors were left to rue two dropped catches on day three in Multan, Salman Agha escaping on four and six on his way to a crucial half-century as Pakistan made 221 in their second innings.

England were set to chase an unlikely 297 to seal the series with a match to go but never got close on a sharply turning Multan pitch that was recycled from the first Test.

“No one means to drop catches but it just proves how important catches are out in these subcontinent conditions because they don’t come along that often,” Ben Stokes told Sky Sports.

“I actually apologised to the group up there last night.”

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Stokes, who missed England’s innings victory in the first Test in Multan because of injury, added: “It’s the first time in my captaincy that I’ve let my emotions, how I was feeling as the game was unfolding, show in my body language.

“I owned up to that and I’m very annoyed with myself for letting that out and it’s something I don’t want to do or be seen to be doing.

“So I apologised to the group about that and I said it was poor old me coming out, tired, grumpy old man last night but you won’t see that happen again.”

The third and final Test is in Rawalpindi from October 24 and Stokes refused to look backwards or wonder what might have been.

“Next week is going to be good. I’m sure everyone’s enjoyed watching here and back home,” said the skipper. “Hopefully we can get a win next week and go home with another series win.”

READ: Shan Masood opens up on strategy behind Pakistan’s Multan Test win

Shan Masood opens up on strategy behind Pakistan’s Multan Test win

MULTAN: Pakistan red-ball captain Shan Masood has opened up on the team’s strategy that steered them to a dominant victory over England in the recently concluded second Test here on Friday.

The Shan Masood-led team defeated England by 152 runs to level the three-match series and claim their first Test victory at home since February 2021.

Pakistan made four changes in their Playing XI for the second Test after the crushing loss in the first match.

Kamran Ghulam made his long-awaited debut, replacing out-of-form Babar Azam. Meanwhile, spin bowlers Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Zahid Mahmood replaced Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed.

Shan Masood, during the post-match press conference, shared the reason behind going with three spin bowlers.

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“When the new selection committee came, we all sat together and our only concern was about taking 20 wickets,” Shan stated.

“Looking at the conditions, we felt that if we played on a used pitch and gave the spinners the advantage, we had a chance.”

The Pakistan captain appreciated spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan for taking the advantage of conditions and steering the team to victory.

“Credit goes to Noman and Sajid for their comeback – it looked like two seasoned campaigners bowling for Pakistan,” he added.

It’s worth noting that Noman and Sajid took eleven and nine wickets respectively, becoming only the second Pakistani pair to share 20 wickets in a Test match.

READ: Pakistan captain lauds Kamran Ghulam for handling pressure of replacing Babar Azam

Pakistan captain lauds Kamran Ghulam for handling pressure of replacing Babar Azam

Pakistan red-ball captain Shan Masood has heaped high praise on middle-order batter Kamran Ghulam for handling the pressure of replacing star batter Babar Azam in the second Test against England.

The Shan Masood-led team defeated England by 152 runs to level the three-match series and claim their first Test victory at home since February 2021.

Pakistan made four changes in their Playing XI for the second Test after the crushing loss in the first match where they lost by an innings and 47 runs.

Kamran made his long-awaited debut, replacing out-of-form Babar. Meanwhile, spin bowlers Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Zahid Mahmood replaced Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed.

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The right-hander made an immediate impact, becoming the 13th player from Pakistan to score a hundred on debut.

Shan Masood highlighted the pressure which Kamran faced ahead of his debut Test and appreciated the batter for his performance.

“I think for Kami (Kamran Ghulam), it’s never easy when you’re replacing one of the best batters in the world,” said the Pakistan captain.

“I read some things that were horrid even before he played his first Test match, so I can’t even imagine the pressure someone can be under, but we were all behind him. From the get-go, he seemed like he belonged. To get that century, that was special.”

READ: Noman Ali and Sajid Khan become the first pair to achieve THIS feat since 1972