England’s Head Coach, Brendon McCullum has come out to quash any perceived claims that his England team struggles on spin-friendly pitches, which comes amidst Pakistan’s captain Shan Masood expressing his desire for another turning track in the upcoming series decider in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan made significant changes between the first and second Tests in Multan, including four alterations to the team, bringing in three spinners, and reusing the same pitch for the second week. The strategy proved highly successful, with spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali taking all 20 wickets, securing a 152-run victory to level the series.
England, who scored 657 runs in 101 overs during their last Test in Rawalpindi two years ago, have generally found the pitch there more favorable for seamers than spinners since Test cricket resumed at the venue in 2019. However, the PCB ground staff are already preparing the pitch for Thursday’s decider, with Masood requesting a drier surface.
In the wake of the second test loss to Pakistan, McCullum to the media,
We were very realistic about how difficult this challenge would be and that there could be some extreme conditions confronting us at some stage. Winning the first Test probably hastened that process, but we have no complaints so far. We were outplayed in this game. We’ll see what Rawalpindi’s got to offer and we’ll try and adapt accordingly.
The English Head Coach also noted that he was anticipating a much rougher surface in Rawalpindi compared to the one England played on a couple of years ago, and hinted that Rehan Ahmed might be a lock for the playing XI should that be the case.