Posted by The first Test between Pakistan and England starts on Monday – a somewhat jarring fact, given that most of the recent England news has centred on one-day internationals (both results and squads). It will be in Multan (again).
To quickly recap: In 2022 England made their first Test tour to Pakistan since 2005. Now here we are, less than two years later, and they’re visiting again (albeit with a completely different set of quick bowlers).
The second Test of that previous series was in Multan, which hasn’t had a Test since. However, it is now set to host the first two Tests of the three that comprise this series. Apparently Multan is Pakistan and England’s ‘special place’ and no-one else is allowed to visit.
We figured we may as well ask Fred Durst to preview the pitch again, being as he did such a bang-up job last time.
Fred Durst says…
Yo!
You may remember that last time around I was studying for my Level 6 GMA Professional Certificate in Turf Surface Consulting.
Dude, Level 6 GMA Turf Surface Consulting is, like, really wack. But I passed, man! I passed!
That qualification has given me extra insights into how this surface is gonna play. And so has that last Test when England won by 26 runs.
Unlike the 2022 Rawalpindi pitch, which was what we in the trade like to call “an absolute road,” the Multan track had a bit of something about it. It offered something to the spinners from the outset – Abrar Ahmed took 7-114 in the first innings – and it wasn’t until the fourth innings that either team passed 300. So if anything, it flattened out.
Let me tell you, that can happen with some loams.
Without actually being there at the ground with my Allett 10-inch soil sampler, I can’t say for definite that the same thing will happen again, but it seems likely. It might therefore be relevant how those fourth innings wickets were taken.
While Ahmed took 11 in the match and Jack Leach took four in Pakistan’s first innings, it was Mark Wood who was the most significant bowler later on. He took 4-65 in an innings when only two wickets fell to spin. So while spin should shape the match, pace could also be key.
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