There’ll be plenty of talk this week about the fact that the second Test in Multan will be played on the same pitch as the first. But let’s be honest: Test cricket cannot afford another game like the one we had last week.
Yes, it ended up as a memorable win for England, and the partnership between Joe Root and Harry Brook was exceptional. But, for me, the ends do not justify the means. That was a bad surface: the days of 500 plays 500, or in this case 550 plays 820, are gone.
There has to be a balance between bat and ball, and that means the pitch has to offer bowlers something at both ends of the game: movement for the seamers at the start, turn for the spinners at the end. Instead, we had a pitch that offered no one anything for four and a bit days – and that is not good for the game.
I know Pakistan collapsed on the fourth evening, but that had nothing to do with the pitch: it was good bowling, and Pakistan’s brains were scrambled after spending so long chasing the ball in the heat during England’s first innings. Their old third-innings frailities cost them.
So if we get a more interesting game by using the same pitch again, I don’t have an issue with that. The one thing they’ve got to be careful about is that the cracks which were starting to appear towards the end of the first Test don’t turn this game into a lottery by, say, the third day.
Test cricket cannot afford a repeat of England’s remarkable victory against Pakistan
The surface offered nothing for four and a bit days and the time of 500 plays 500 has gone
As a batter, your skill can be tested by swing, seam or spin, and that’s as it should be. But if batting becomes a lottery, with one ball shooting along the ground, and the next rearing off a length, then skill is removed from the game.
That said, there’s every chance we get another flat one: that’s the nature of pitches here in Multan.
If it does turn, that may play into England’s hands, because they can bowl Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir for long spells, and feel more comfortable about bringing Ben Stokes back as the third seamer, because he can be used in shorter bursts.
But if it’s flat, Stokes would have to return as one of four seamers, and that would present England with a selection dilemma.
As for Pakistan, with their new selection panel, leaving out Babar Azam, I think England won’t mind that at all.
He’s a bit out of nick at the moment, but guys like him generally find a way of scoring runs when the pressure’s on.
But the second Test in Multan will be played on the same pitch as the first (pictured)
The ball is in Pakistan’s court and England may be relaxed over Babar Azam’s absence
If I were in England’s shoes, I’d be pretty relaxed about turning up on Tuesday and finding a Pakistan team without their star batsman.
The bottom line, though, is that Pakistan simply have to play better this week. They didn’t look like taking 10 wickets in the first Test, let alone 20.
The ball is in their court. We’re about to find out whether they’re good enough to stop England winning the series with a game to spare.
