Daily Times

LAHORE: Skipper Babar Azam and his men will looking to level the three-match series when the second Test against England begins at Multan Stadium in Multan on Friday (today). England put a massive dent in Pakistan’s hopes of reaching next year’s ICC World Test Championship final when they registered a thrilling 74-run victory over the Asian side during the first Test in Rawalpindi and Ben Stokes’ team will be looking to replicate that performance when the second Test commences today. England will conclude their first Test tour of Pakistan since 2005 with a match in Karachi. It is interesting that the visitors won the first Test on a dead Rawalpindi Stadium track that offered nothing to the bowlers. Pakistan are hoping to get more life from the Multan pitch. Multan, however, despite not hosting a Test match for 16 years, could provide more spin if recent domestic matches are anything to go by. Multan helped spinners in the last first-class match played there, with former Test spinner Yasir Shah taking five wickets in each innings.

Babar, who scored a century in Pakistan’s first innings in Rawalpindi, told reporters on Thursday that he wanted something more lively. “We wanted a spin pitch in Rawalpindi. I gave my input but unfortunately it was not what we planned.” Rawalpindi yielded 1,768 runs in four innings – the third most in Test history – with seven individual centuries and five 50s. Babar said that his total focus was on getting the team to victory. “We will try our best to win the Test so as to fulfil our promise made with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.” Babar said his team’s victory was his top priority and he doesn’t care what other people say about him. Responding to a question about the final playing eleven, the captain said that the team had not been finalised yet. “Final decision in this regard would be made after reviewing the pitch.” He vowed to overcome the faults and said the team would show aggressiveness in the upcoming matches.

And while England are out of contention of reaching next year’s World Test Championship final, they can severely hamper Pakistan’s chances by registering a second straight win with a series clinching victory. Pakistan are currently in fifth place on the World Test Championship standings with a 46.67 win-percentage and would likely need to win their remaining four Test matches this period to sneak into next year’s decider. Meanwhile, England have replaced injured all-rounder Liam Livingstone with fit-again fast bowler Mark Wood in the only change to their squad for the second Test, with Ollie Pope retaining the wicketkeeper’s gloves. Livingstone has returned home after sustaining a knee injury in his debut Test in Rawalpindi. Wood missed the first Test as he continued his recovery from a hip injury. Ben Foakes, who missed the opener with illness, is now fully recovered but England skipper Ben Stokes confirmed that Pope, who made 108 in the first innings in Rawalpindi, will continue behind the wicket because of his superior batting.

“I’ll still keep saying that he (Foakes) is the best keeper in the world,” Stokes said on the eve of the match. “It must sound silly to not be picking him but you’ve got to see the conditions we face here. Pakistan is a very hard place to come and win. Adding Mark Wood into the side gives us the best opportunity to take 20 wickets. That’s what we came here to do. We came here to try and win the game of cricket and not be conservative. While light faded early in Rawalpindi, morning fog may further reduce the playing time in Multan which is why Wood’s return could prove crucial for the visitors.” Off-spinner Will Jacks, who claimed six wickets on his Test debut in Rawalpindi, has also been retained. Another option for England could be to hand a debut to uncapped spinner Rehan Ahmed, after the teenager was added to the squad just prior to the first Test. If selected Ahmed would overtake Brian Close and become the youngest male to debut in a Test match for England and selectors have faith that the 18-year-old is more than capable of performing well if chosen.

Squads:

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali, Saud Shakeel, Zahid Mahmood, Mohammad Wasim Junior, Naseem Shah, Agha Salman, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed, Shan Masood.

England: Ben Stokes (captain), James Anderson, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Will Jacks, Keaton Jennings, Jack Leach, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood, Rehan Ahmed.