RAWALPINDI: The Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported on Monday that members of the national selection committee Aaqib Javed, Aleem Dar, Asad Shafiq, and Azhar Ali are camping in Rawalpindi to oversee the pitch’s preparation for Pakistan’s third and final Test against England.
At the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, industrial-sized fans have been placed on both ends of the playing surface to dry out as much moisture as possible so that it can accommodate spinners.
After Pakistan’s first victory at home in nearly four years, when they defeated England by 152 runs in the second match in Multan last week and spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali took all 20 wickets, the strategy appears to have qualified as Pakistan’s formula for winning Test matches.
“The ground staff has been told to set up a pitch that offers a lot of help to the spinners as Pakistan needs to go after Britain again with slow bowlers,” PTI cited a source near the selectors as saying.
With Ben Stokes’ England winning the first Test by an innings and 47 runs before the hosts came back, the series is in a good place.
According to the source, in accordance with the selectors’ instructions, the ground staff was preparing a dry, spinning track through a variety of means.
He stated, “They (the ground staff) are using large fans, heaters, and black cloth to soak the moisture in the surface and keep it as dry as possible so that the cracks open up quickly during the match under the sun.”
After arriving in Islamabad on Sunday, the England team decided to take a rest day, so they haven’t played yet. However, the Pakistan players did play nets.
The source continued, “Aaqib and Dar, who have vast experience playing on home pitches and seeing them, are adamant that Pakistan should again press on the home advantage.”
Pakistan skipper Shan Masood and lead trainer, Jason Gillispie are additionally in the know however not as straightforwardly engaged with administering the arrangement of the pitch as the selectors, said the PTI report.
Pakistan is desperate to win the series in Rawalpindi, where they beat South Africa in January 2021 and recorded their last series victory.
