Written by: Waseem Abbas
Posted on: December 01, 2022 | 
| 中文
England's Ben Duckett playing a sweep shot, while Rizwan is behind the wickets
After a long period of continuously playing T20 cricket to prepare for the recently concluded World Cup, Pakistan is set to play its first Test series in four months. Pakistan will face the Champions of the shorter formats of the T20 and ODIs, England. It is going to be a historic series on its home ground after a hiatus of seventeen long years. The opener of the series is scheduled for the 1st of December in Rawalpindi, while the 2nd game will be played in Multan on the 9th of December, and the last game of the series is set for the 17th of December in Karachi.
Pakistan's Muhammad Ali bowls to England's Ben Duckett in the first match of the series, on December 1, 2022
The return of international cricket to Pakistan has reached its peak once again, as the full-strength English squad is in Pakistan for the series, after canceling the series last year citing security reasons. England last played a Test series in Pakistan in 2005, where Inzamam-ul-Haq led Pakistan thrashed Michel Vaughan’s English side 2-0 in a three-match tournament. England's legendary seamer James Anderson is the only cricketer from the current two squads who played in the 2005 series. The ongoing series is an integral part of the ICC Test Championship, and for Pakistan to qualify for the final of the Championship, it needs to win at least four out of its five remaining tests, three in this series and two against New Zealand, scheduled after the current series.
James Anderson after taking Kamran Akmal's wicket in the 2005 tour
Pakistan has done well in T20Is this year, especially in the World Cup, but its performance in Test cricket in the recent past has not been up to the mark. It lost to a weak Sri Lankan side in its last match in July, while England defeated South Africa in its last two matches in August-September this year. England has played attacking cricket under Ben Stokes' captaincy and Brendon McCullum's coaching, which the Pakistani team should be wary of. The introduction of players like Harry Brook, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone and Ben Duckett testifies to this attacking approach. Under Stokes, England has won 6 out of 7 tests, which is a remarkable feat given that England had lost 11 out of its last 18 matches with only 3 wins and 4 draws, before Stokes took on the reins of captaincy.
Brendon McCullum (coach) and Ben Stokes (captain) at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium
England will be banking on James Anderson, Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson for bowling, while Stokes, Joe Root and Ollie Pope will be crucial in batting. Root is number one in ICC test batting ratings, who has scored 2681 runs in 27 matches since the start of 2021, at an outstanding average of over 57 with 11 centuries. While Pope also has done well after being promoted to number three this summer, accumulating 439 runs in six matches at a healthy average of 43.90.
As far as weaknesses are concerned, England’s openers are unsettled and prone to new ball assaults, while their spinners are not very effective and are inexperienced. England's opener Zak Crawley is averaging a paltry 20.57 in twenty test matches since the start of 2021, while the other probable opener, Keaton Jennings, is making a comeback to the national team having last played for England in February 2019, and only has a career average of miserly 25.19. Ben Ducket, another opener in the squad, has career average of 15 and has last played 6 years ago for England in Test cricket. Pakistan should seek to exploit this obvious weakness of the touring side in order to exert pressure on the stable middle order of the opponents. England's Jack Leach is the only experienced spinner with 95 test wickets at 32.62 to his credit, while England has called up a 17-year-old Pakistani-origin youngster, Rehan Ahmed, to assist Leach in this series in the department of spin bowling. Pakistan, traditionally a strong team of spin, will look to milk the spinners. Moreover, inexperience is also a factor, as two English players are making debuts and a few others are making Test comebacks in the first match.
Liam Livingstone and Will Jacks, England's debutants in the first game
As far as the Pakistani team is concerned, it looks like a solid team on paper with all bases covered. Pakistan's bowling looks to be the weaker side in this series, with Shaheen Afridi out due to an injury, while experienced Hasan Ali and Yasir Shah have been dropped from the squad. Five bowlers are in line waiting for Test debuts: the highest wicket-taker and best bowler of the 2022 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (QET), Abrar Ahmed, the best pacer of the 2021 and 2022 QET, Muhammad Ali, leg spinner Zahid Mehmood, and the regulars of the shorter formats, Harris Rauf and Muhammad Waseem Junior. Mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed can be a surprise entry for the English side, while Rauf can also stun the opponents. Pakistan has handed debuts to Four players in the first game: Zahid Mehmood, Muhammad Ali, Saud and Harris Rauf. Young Naseem Shah will be leading the Pakistani bowling unit.
Pakistan's debutants, (L to R) Muhammad Ali, Saud Shakil, Zahid Mehmood, and Harris Rauf
Pakistan looks to be a settled batting side, with five out of the top six batters being obvious picks. Pakistan should give a longer run to the Karachi-born southpaw Saud Shakeel at 5 in Test cricket, who averages over 50 in first-class cricket and has been in superb form in the 2022 QET as well. Abdullah Shafiq and Babar Azam will be crucial for Pakistan's batting, as both have a knack for playing marathon innings. 36-years old Fawad Alam has been axed from the squad following a string of failures, while 37-years old Azhar Ali has escaped the axing but will be under immense pressure to deliver, for the in-form young batters like Shan Masood and Saud Shakil are waiting in the wings.
Pakistan should make pitches that are conducive for bowling, so that we escape boring matches leading to draws. Pakistan made flat tracks against Australia in their last test series at home, seeking to draw the series, but faltered in the final match to lose the series altogether. Pakistan should seek inspiration from England, which doesn’t shy away from losing and is always aiming for results.
England’s Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett batting against Pakistan
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