In an extraordinary and possibly unprecedented move, England and Pakistan have been told they will play their second Test on exactly the same pitch on which 2,123 balls were bowled and 1,599 runs scored last week – one already pockmarked at both ends with footmarks and deep cracks.
But though the pitch might be the same, the Pakistan team will not. The fallout from another humbling defeat in the first game of the series, the side’s sixth in a row, has seen the Pakistan Cricket Board shake up their selection committee, adding three new members including the former Test umpire Aleem Dar, and then the line-up itself, with Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi the most high-profile casualties.
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While the decision to reuse the pitch has yet to be officially confirmed, both teams were informed about it on arrival at the ground for training on Sunday. The surface was notably lifeless during the first Test, allowing Pakistan to score 556 in their first innings and England 823 in theirs, but with the best part of five days’ wear it is unlikely to be so predictable second time around, with the footmarks offering particular encouragement to both sets of spinners.
“I don’t know if I’m surprised or not really,” said Jimmy Anderson, England’s coaching consultant. “I think with them probably thinking they need a result here, there’s a chance that it would be a result wicket if they’re playing the same one. They’ve obviously watered it and tried to repair it as best as possible, so we’re not sure exactly what we’re going to get, but you’d expect it to not be as flat as it was last week.
“I’m no groundsman, but I don’t think you can make cracks go back together that easily, certainly in three days. You’d expect it to do something off the cracks and with it being dry and hot again, you’d expect the spinners to play more of a part. It’s their decision and we’re not that fussed about it. It’s their home game, they can do what they want.”
On Sunday, Ben Stokes bowled at full pace and with no obvious signs of discomfort, so looks likely to come back into England’s side after recovering from his hamstring injury. Any element of risk in this decision would be reduced by a more spin-friendly pitch, which would make it less likely that he would be required to bowl long spells. “It might play into our hands,” Anderson said.
