England’s head coach Brendon McCullum has expressed his surprise at how long it took Pakistan to turn to spinning wickets to counter his side’s aggressive batting lineup.
In his post-match interview with a British Broadcaster, McCullum stated,
I am surprised it has taken them this long to play on surfaces like that on here because they were very good.
His sentiments had been echoed by former and current players alike as Pakistan stubbornly continued to roll out flat wickets including the first Test in Multan which the visitors used to their advantage.
The debacle caused Babar Azam his place in the team and Jason Gillespie and Shan Masood their place in the selection committee as incoming head-honcho Aaqib Javed instructed the surfaces to be tailored to Pakistan’s strengths. The reused wicket in Multan and the much-debated pitch of Rawalpindi bore fruit for the home side with Sajid Khan and Noman Ali leading their side to comfortable wins in each game.
The series win was Pakistan’s first since 2023 and their first at home since 2021. Brendon McCullum was also quick to lay the credit for the win at their feet.
“In the end, credit to Pakistan. The way those two spinners Noman and Sajid bowled was superb. They were brave enough to make decisions on their personnel and they were brave enough to make decisions on the surfaces they wanted to play on” he added.
Brendon McCullum said, " I'm surprised it took this long for them (Pakistan) to play on surfaces like that over here. (smiles)"pic.twitter.com/jqQA93oztE
— Sheri. (@CallMeSheri1_) October 26, 2024
With all the hoopla surrounding Pakistan’s struggles at home, the team is likely to stick to this winning formula when they host West Indies next year.
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