PAK vs ENG 2024/25, PAK vs ENG 3rd Test Match Preview

Big picture: Rawalpindi? Rawalspind…

Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

Has a team ever taken Mike Tyson’s famous aphorism more literally than Ben Stokes’ England? His jut-jawed attitude to risk and reward has generated a host of notable Test matches in recent years, but in Multan last week, his fifth defeat of seven on the subcontinent was a stone-cold knockout.

At 73 for 0 and 211 for 2 in the first innings, England’s fists were spinning, especially those of Ben Duckett, whose fourth Test century featured another absurd series of sweeps. Thereafter, however, England mustered 224 for 18 wickets in the rest of the match, as they ran into a precise one-two combination from Pakistan spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali.

Normally, the forewarned would be forearmed for the rematch, especially now that the series is on the line. But that’s not how this England team performs. They see clear logic in taking an aggressive approach in bowler-friendly conditions, to put their runs on the board before the ball arrives with their name on it. Because, as England showed by going into their shell at the end of their tour of India earlier this year, dying in a hole is not a better option either.

And, as England showed in this very place two years ago, they won’t stop there either if things go well. Pakistan’s dead deck policy was in full force in 2022, as the visitors went on the offensive on an extraordinary opening day, amassing 506 for 4 in 75 overs, with centuries for Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook. The four will return for a second helping in the coming days.

And that is the kind of punch in the mouth that Pakistan itself hopes to avoid, as it carries out its own cunning plan from Multan.

There could still be a significant difference between last week’s reused surface, one that had already seen five days of tough testing action in England’s extraordinary victory in the series opener, and this one, which has suffered a emergency delay in the four days between matches.

Despite all the work the ground crew has done, with industrial fans and commercial heaters at each end creating a deconstruction wind tunnel, they may still have difficulty opening any cracks in the surface if there weren’t any there at all. first place. England are certainly not preparing as if they are going into a minefield on day one. Instead, they lined up before practice for a six-hit contest, with Rehan Ahmed beating Brook in the final and Brendon McCullum edging Stokes for the longest hit of the day.

However, they are planning for a lack of reverse swing on a relatively lush pitch, and have mitigated the omission of a second frontline seamer with the inclusion of Rehan, whose leg-spin is likely to conjure a wicket out of nowhere when the going gets tough. ugly difficult, as was the case with the long jump to Babar Azam that lit his debut with five points, like reviewing a lineup when things are in your favor.

Gus Atkinson also returns, a very useful man to take off the bench, although the absence of Brydon Carse will be a difficult hole to fill. He claimed nine wickets at 24.33 in his first two Tests, which is an admirable return by any debutant’s standards. However, achieving such figures in the heat and dust of Multan, and in the shadow of the historic 823 for 7 declared in England, was truly exceptional.

Either way, we are primed for the kind of soapbox finish that didn’t look remotely on the cards after England flexed their muscles in their first Test innings victory. Pakistan have not won a series at home since February 2021, but there is confidence in their cricket now. This is best summed up in the complementary yet contrasting spinning styles of Noman and Sajid, but is also visible in Kamran Ghulam’s composed arrival into the team and the valiant lower-order resistance that Salman Agha oversaw in his pivotal second innings in Multan. Despite all the flaws that persist in their setup, they now have a great opportunity.

forms guide

Pakistan WLLLL (last five tests, most recent first)
England LWLWW

In the spotlight: Kamran Ghulam and Rehan Ahmed

It was one of the great debuts in Multan, since Kamran Ghulam He came in from the cold, after a decade of service on Pakistan’s domestic circuit, and in place of one of their modern greats, Babar Azam. His determined and measured century proved ideally paced for the conditions as he absorbed the pressure of England’s attack, hit back when the opportunity arose and led his team to a first-innings total of 366 that proved decisive when The field began to improve. warm up during the last three days of the game. The challenge, of course, is to back up that effort, especially if Pakistan lose the toss this time and find themselves chasing the game on a worn surface. But one advantage of his years in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is that he has seen all these surfaces before and, as that debut showed, is unfazed by the step up to Test level.

Second season syndrome is a familiar challenge for many young cricketers, but young English players have it harder than most. Ahmed Rehan was the toast of England cricket after his fairytale debut in Karachi two years ago, but has since had to wait eight months between international opportunities, having made a disappointing impression on the tour of India in February, with 11 wickets at 44.00 in three defeats. appearances. The white-ball setup has also left him inactive, Adil Rashid shows no signs of giving up his crown, and at the age of 20, Rehan has also had to deal with the feeling that he is no longer the most acclaimed cricketer of its history. family, with his younger brother Farhan, 16, making waves in the Nottinghamshire County Championship after his impressive performances for England Under-19s. But if Rehan’s Pakistani counterpart Zahid Mahmood felt like a spare during the second Test in Multan, there is little danger of England captain Stokes being as complacent in his captaincy. Expect him to be relied on for key breakthroughs in attacking fields, and he’ll be eager to repay your faith.

Team news: Rehan returns, Pakistan unchanged

Why change a winning formula? Pakistan did not look perfectly balanced in the second Test, with Sajid and Noman bowling over 87% of their overs in two innings, but it worked wonders, and if Pindi’s delivery performs as expected, a repeat performance will be more than enough. . . Aamer Jamal’s batting provided important balance in the lower-middle order, even if his six seam overs were an afterthought, while leg-spinner Zahid returns to the scene on debut in 2022, where he claimed the dazzling figures of 4 for 235 in 33 overs.

Pakistan: 1 Saim Ayub, 2 Abdullah Shafique, 3 Shan Masood (captain), 4 Kamran Ghulam, 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Salman Agha, 8 Aamer Jamal, 9 Sajid Khan, 10 Noman Ali, 11 Zahid Mehmood

England rolled the dice on a surface clearly designed for spin and called on Rehan as part of a three-spin attack. It is an echo of his approach in the third Test of his last tour of Pakistan, when he was called up again for the series finale and stole the show with five for in the second innings. On the bowling front, Atkinson returns after sitting out the second Test, in place of Carse (both sides’ standout quick in this series) and Matthew Potts, and ahead of Olly Stone, back in the country after of their wedding and perhaps wishing they had gone on their honeymoon after all. Stokes, who bowled just five overs after returning to the team last week following a hamstring tear, may need to increase his workload if there is help off the field or, more likely, in the air.

England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (captain), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Rehan Ahmed, 10 Jack Leach, 11 Shoaib Bashir.

Plot and conditions: rake and ruin?

Pakistan’s cunning plan worked wonders in Multan, so once again the industrial fans came out, in another bold bid to inject life into one of the flattest, run-heavy surfaces out there. Brook was talking about the pitch having also been “raked”, as the grounds staff attempt to exacerbate any roughness that may exist on a pitch that clearly suited England’s Bazballers very well on their last visit two years ago. The relatively lush outfield may not help reverse swing to the same extent as was evident in last week’s second Multan Test. The more northern location, coupled with the onset of winter, means some early finishes are possible due to poor lighting.

Statistics and curiosities

Pakistan has won five of its previous 15 Tests in Rawalpindi, although none since 2021, when it beat South Africa by 95 runs. Since then, they have lost three out of four, including a draw against Australia, and England’s victory in 2022 was followed by Bangladesh’s two out of two to achieve a historic series victory.

Despite twin scores of 9 and 16 in the second Test, Harry Brook still averages 101.25 in five Tests in Pakistan. If he makes another 100 runs in the third Test, in less than 146 balls, he will break Ben Duckett’s new record for the fastest batsman in 2,000 Test runs (2,293 balls).

Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub achieved their first double-digit opening partnership of 15 in the second Test in Multan, but their average of 4.70 after ten innings remains by far the lowest for any regular partnership in that role.

Mohammed Rizwan needs 16 more runs to reach 2000 in Tests.

Zak Crawley will play his 50th test for England. His 32.36 average isn’t much to write home about, but his penchant for going big when he’s prepared certainly is. He made a century in his last appearance in Rawalpindi and needs 184 to reach 3000 in Tests.

England have lost seven tosses in a row, dating back to the second Test against the West Indies in July.

Quotes

“Adding Rehan’s free spirit and desperation to change the game every time he has the ball in his hand is a huge advantage for us this week. The Legspinners have an incredible ability to break a game open… You’d rather have him and not need him “than needing it and not having it.”
ben stokesEngland captain, is keen to back Rehan Ahmed despite a quiet season for Leicestershire.

Andrew Miller is UK editor for Pak Gazette. @miller_cricket