RAWALPINDI: Rehan Ahmed was selected by England as the third slow bowler on Tuesday for the series-deciding final Test against Pakistan, which will be played on a dry Rawalpindi surface that is expected to take spin.
When the match starts on Thursday, the leg spinner, who is 20 years old, will team up with left-armer Jack Leach and off-break bowler Shoaib Bashir to form a three-pronged spin attack.
After England prevailed in the first Test in Multan by an innings and 47 runs, the three-match series is tied at 1-1.
Pakistan involved similar pitch for the second match which they won by 152 runs, with their spinners taking each of the 20 wickets.
Gus Atkinson, a seam bowler, was brought back into the team, while Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse, a fast bowler, were dropped.
“There are two changes from the second Test in Multan with seamer Gus Atkinson returns and leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed is incorporated,” said a Britain and Ribs Cricket Board (ECB) explanation.
Rehan, who took five wickets on his Test debut in Karachi in Britain’s pounding 3-0 scope of Pakistan in 2022, is incorporated interestingly since a Test against India in Rajkot recently.
PITCH SCRUTINISED Pakistan used industrial-sized fans and patio heaters to dry the square, prompting England’s decision to bring in a third spinner. Another grass-free pitch was constructed in Rawalpindi.
Tuesday, the hosts attempted to dry the surface to replicate their spin-driven success. As a result, the pitch was under scrutiny.
Britain lead trainer Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stirs up investigated the pitch finally in front of the group’s training on Tuesday.
England batsman Harry Brook told reporters, “Everybody goes and looks at the wicket and everybody says something different.”
“Hopefully it’s like any other Pakistani pitch, good to bat on for the first few days, and hopefully we get some turn out on it at the end of the game.”
The hosts finally figured out how to make the most of their advantage after Pakistan won the second Test in Multan, their first victory at home in nearly four years.
Pakistan player Saud Shakeel, nonetheless, mourned the public side passing up chances of beating any semblance of Britain, Australia and New Zealand — all visiting the country in the 2022-23 season.
He stated to reporters, “I think we have been a little late in deciding these things.” For instance, assuming that Britain is coming, we ought to be clear about our mix and pitch planning.”
Saud recommended Pakistan might go with three spinners too in the Rawalpindi Test, with the side having the choice of playing either mohammad Ali as the subsequent pacer or Zahid Mahmood as a third spinner.
Saud said, “We’ll try to use the same strategy.” We’ll stick with that strategy if our spin group continues to take wickets and cause trouble for opponents.
Given their prior experience playing first-class cricket, Saud praised Noman and Sajid’s performance in the most recent Test and predicted that they would be crucial to Pakistan’s chances of a rare series victory.
“… given the cricket Noman has played and his experience, it was apparent on the field,” he said. ” If you play England, you are aware that they will attack, but both teams demonstrated their experience.
They know how to bowl in such circumstances because they have played a lot of first-class cricket. We hope that in the third match, they will contribute similarly to our victory.”
Britain group for the third Test: Ben Stirs up (chief), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Creek, Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Drain, Shoaib Bashir.
