Pakistan won a Test on home soil three years ago. Now, they have another chance to win as the captain Shan Masood wants his team to get inspiration from how close they had gotten to the win when they played the last time in Multan against England in December 2022 as well. And, Pakistan and Masood will hope that individual performances can change their fortunes.
“We should learn lessons and draw inspiration from our last Test series against England,” Masood told the media. “We were close in that series and there were opportunities to win. However, we let them slip. It is a mistake that we have committed regularly, including under my captaincy. We need to focus on our strength, see how we can tackle England, and play good cricket for five days… It is all about clicking as a team and getting the start that can give us the momentum.”
However, it has been a poor start for Masood at the helm as Pakistan have lost all five Tests under his captaincy so far as well. Before the two Bangladesh Tests, the Pakistan Cricket Board shared a podcast featuring Masood and head coach Jason Gillespie where the two spoke about the need to create Pakistan’s identity again. Meanwhile, they are quite vocal about England’s aggressive game plan and play like them as well.
“We know what style of cricket they will play and we need to plan how we can tackle it,” he said. “We need to remain focused on what our strengths are. We have announced a side that gives us the best balance. We are clear in our mind about it and that is why we announced it a day earlier.”
“Aamir Jamal has provided us an edge in the seam department and he has also shown his batting capabilities in Australia… We missed a batter in the Bangladesh series who could provide us runs after number seven and he also has 18 wickets in three Tests. We have tried to be consistent in our XI as these are the individuals who have won us the games in the past. We want to give consistent run to our batters. There were some positives in the Bangladesh series. Despite losing the toss in challenging conditions, our batters put good scores in the first innings. We made mistakes in the second innings and we put ourselves in losing situations because of our batting collapses,” he further added.
“You have to treat your fast bowlers differently considering their workloads and schedules. Shaheen, Naseem and Aamir Jamal may have to play white-ball cricket in Australia five days after this series. You can be consistent in selection with spinners as reflected in the case of Abrar, but fast bowlers have injury concerns and you have to manage them carefully. Shaheen and Naseem did get a break but they remained in touch with their skill as they played the Champions [One-Day] Cup. Shaheen perhaps bowled the maximum overs [in the tournament] which must have helped him with the rhythm. We feel Shaheen and Naseem are now fresh and this is the right time to start the series with them,” he stated.
However, England too have been going through a transition phase in their bowling unit after James Anderson and Stuart Broad’s retirement as well. Their most experienced pace bowler Chris Woakes has played only five Tests in Asia – all in 2016 – and he has not played overseas for two and a half years now. Gus Atkinson made his Test debut only this summer but has 34 wickets in six Tests as well.
“Their fast bowling department may lack experience. Even we lack experience. But, Gus Atkinson has had a very good start to his Test career and Brydon Carse, who is a regular in red ball for Durham, has played international white-ball cricket for England. You cannot underestimate anyone. And when it comes to the unknown you have to be extra cautious and plan more carefully as you are unaware of a new bowler’s strengths and weaknesses. We will give respect to the opposition’s bowlers and their skillsets,” Shan Masood concluded.
