- Pakistan’s decision to play for a ninth day on the same pitch paid off for them
- England will have to win the series in Rawalpindi after a crushing 152-run loss
Pakistan have stepped up their attempts to ambush England on another spinning surface in this week’s third and deciding Test in Rawalpindi, installing giant fans and heaters by the pitch ahead of the Thursday start.
England crumbled to a 152-run defeat in the second Test at Multan, where Pakistan spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan shared all 20 wickets on the same strip that had been used for the series opener.
Aqib Javed and Aleem Dar, two members of Pakistan’s restructured selection committee, are understood to have headed north for Rawalpindi the day the second Test was over, with instructions to oversee the preparation of another spinning pitch.
Pakistan captain Shan Masood had suggested after his team’s first win in 12 home Tests that it might not be straightforward transforming Rawalpindi – which has traditionally boasted one of the flattest pitches in the world – into a spinner’s paradise.
But the sight of the fans and heaters looming over the pitch in an attempt to dry it out confirmed that Pakistan will once again gamble on stacking their side with spinners and crossing their fingers that they win the toss.
England have three days to decide whether to hand a second cap to Leicestershire leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed.
He would form part of a three-pronged slow-bowling attack with the Somerset pair of Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir, who shared 12 wickets in the second Test in Multan.