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PAK vs. ENG 2024/25, preview of the 1st test match of PAK vs. ENG

Posted on by Kennedy
PAK vs. ENG 2024/25, preview of the 1st test match of PAK vs. ENG

Overall picture: On the road again

Ask a friend, any friend: Where do you think England will play a Test match this week? Who, apart from the most loyal cricket fans, could hope to keep up with an absurd itinerary that ended just last week (!) in a cracking one-day series between England and Australia at the end of a deeply disappointing summer?

And now, without even pausing to reset the clocks, they are back on their winter journey… to Pakistan, a place England had not visited for almost two decades since 2005 but where they will soon have played six Tests A two-year period is more away games than even Australia and India could justify playing in a similar period.

It's all deeply confusing – and that's before we get into the weeds of this winter, with a white-ball tour of the West Indies already three weeks away and another Test series in New Zealand next month. It's no wonder that James Anderson decided to enjoy his golf vacation while he could, or that Andrew Flintoff decided that a role in the reboot of the cult game shows of the '80s could be a useful side gig. The international schedule is already anarchy. Where is the harm in a little more dysfunction?

Speaking of such things… England's hosts are true masters of chaos. Aside from the dismal recent record of five straight Test defeats – two of them in a groundbreaking home series loss to Bangladesh last month – Pakistan's brand of dysfunction is best expressed in the nonsensical preparation of this series, which brought a near-win-day deluge conflicting briefings about the preferred venues for the three tests.

With Karachi and Lahore out of action and Rawalpindi pre-booked by an international conference, there had been serious consideration of moving the show to Abu Dhabi instead – much to the chagrin of Brendon McCullum – before the back-to-back games in Multan were finally sorted out late last month . Despite the country's many hidden charms, Pakistan has never been a popular destination for travel enthusiasts, and with many tour operators abandoning plans amid the uncertainty, that is unlikely to change in the coming weeks.

However you look at the build (or lack thereof), it's a combination that deserves more than the shoehorn treatment it's been offered. England's final trip to Pakistan in December 2022 was an extraordinary triumph, set in motion by the full-throttle effort in the series opener in Rawalpindi, but epitomized by Ben Stokes' magnificent captaincy throughout: from his perfectly weighted statement to the violent victory that dead deck, to his innovative slip-free field placements that saw him take 20 wickets in similarly inhospitable conditions in Multan, and to his fearless faith in newcomer Rehan Ahmed, whose five wickets on his debut in Karachi meant a romantic seal for victory the campaign.

Times have changed quite quickly since then, not least in the evolution of England's bowling attack. None of the previous tour's three main protagonists – Anderson, Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson – will make the return trip, as their not-quite-similar replacements Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse and Gus Atkinson join the seam attack, who played exactly zero foreign Tests in the entire Bazball era has.

With Stokes out through injury, Ollie Pope will also be under pressure to conjure the same alchemy with the tools at his disposal. Although he performed well as a leader in his three Tests against Sri Lanka, Pope was arguably guilty of over-attacking in the final defeat at the Kia Oval – a trait that revealed the level of subtlety in Stokes' methods that sometimes occurs can get lost in the bravado of his team's overall approach.

So if Pakistan has an advantage, it lies in their bowling attack. The combination of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Aamer Jamal is, on paper, the best attack they have fielded in months, offering a cutting edge performance that was largely missing from the 2022 campaign in particular. Although Jamal has only played three Tests, each of them came in an excellent 18-wicket debut series in Australia, while a fully fit Naseem could still leave England longing for the 150km/h Exocets that Wood brought to that previous success.

No doubt the context of this series will re-emerge once the teams take the field and the familiar rhythms of Test cricket take center stage again. But at the moment, with no build-up, no fanfare – probably no fans too – it feels more like cricket for cricket's sake. The team that manages to best park this existentialism could well gain an important lead over the next five days.

Form Guide

Pakistan LLLLL (last five tests, most recent first)
England LWWWW

Spotlight – Abrar Ahmed and Chris Woakes

England's batsmen – five of whom will be making their second Test appearance in Multan – will no doubt remember Pakistan's standout player from his first visit two years ago. With his Harry Potter glasses and a name loaded with wizard-themed headlines, Abrar Ahmed could have been on the run in his first appearance in Pakistan. Instead, he simply used the repertoire that had served him so well in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, taking seven first-innings wickets and 11 in total in a memorably effective debut. Although England ran at just under five per over in their 51 overs, that was partly a tribute to the secret of his methods – striking before getting out – such as a viciously played carrom ball that was enough for Zak Crawley to get in first innings.

The statistics are so stark that the man himself has given up trying to combat them. In 34 home Tests, Chris Woakes has taken 137 wickets at a world-class average of 21.59. However, in 20 appearances abroad, those figures are a more down-to-earth 36 at 51.88 – and he had essentially given up hope of ever being used in foreign climes when he was overlooked for the India tour earlier this year. But circumstances are changing rapidly, and with Anderson and Stuart Broad gone and Stokes' hamstrings depriving the seam attack of another of his brightest old minds, the value of Woakes' experience outweighs any doubts about his impact in such conditions. He's here on merit too, it has to be said, after an outstanding summer as England's attack leader – 24 wickets at 20.25 against West Indies and Sri Lanka ensure he starts this season with confidence in his methods and the confidence of his team will- buddies.

Team news: Pakistan brings back the big bowling weapons

Shan Masood was in the firing line after the series defeat in Bangladesh but he survives as captain for now and is part of the same top seven that lost out to Mehidy Hasan Miraz and co. The notable changes come in the bowling attack, with Aamer Jamal making his comeback after an earlier problem and reuniting with Afridi and Naseem in what is widely recognized as Pakistan's best seam attack. Khurram Shahzad, who took six wickets in the second Test against Bangladesh, missed the game as he failed to fully recover from a left side injury.

Pakistan: 1 Saim Ayub, 2 Abdullah Shafique, 3 Shan Masood (Captain), 4 Babar Azam, 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Salman Ali Agha, 8 Aamer Jamal, 9 Shaheen Afridi, 10 Naseem Shah, 11 Abrar Ahmad

England welcome Crawley back to the top of the rankings, even if he is unable to play due to the broken finger he suffered in the summer. However, Stokes fails again as he returns to full strength out of excessive caution after tearing his hamstring in August. Carse will make his debut at the venue where his Durham team-mate Wood was so effective alongside Atkinson and Woakes two years ago – playing his first sub-continent Test since 2016 – while Jack Leach makes his first appearance since the India He will tour in February alongside his Somerset team-mate Shoaib Bashir.

England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope (Capt), 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jamie Smith (Week), 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Jack Leach, 11 Shoaib Bashir

Pitch and conditions: Greener than the standard in Multan

There is some grass on the Multan pitch but it was shaved on Saturday afternoon. England don't expect the ball to turn over as early as it did on their last visit in 2022, with the pitch and outfield being much greener. However, judging from the practice strips, there might be a slight bounce.

Statistics and interesting facts

  • England's 26-run win on their last visit to Multan in December 2022 was also the most recent Test played at the venue.
  • Overall, Pakistan have won three of the last six Tests held in Multan, including England's only other visit in 2005-06. India won by an innings in 2004, while a draw against the West Indies completed the set.
  • Joe Root needs 71 ​​to overtake Alastair Cook's tally of 12,472 Test runs, the most by an England batsman and the fifth most by any player in Test history.

Quotes

“Last time we were close to winning but we let the games slip away. We know how they play, but at the end of the day we have to see how we approach it. We have a clear mind and that is the reason why we made it with the name XI.”
Pakistan's captain, Shan Masood believes his team has the means to make amends for the 3-0 defeat two years ago.

“We have the skills to fill the gap left by Jimmy. Of course it will never be easy, but it will be a great opportunity for these guys to learn and bowl in different conditions.”
Ollie Pope believes England's seam attack can rise to the challenge in unfamiliar conditions.

Andrew Miller is the UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket

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