Will England face another 'shocking Test-match pitch' in Multan?

Only successful cricket bash we get truthful hung up astir the transportation the athletics is played upon.

England whitethorn have taken a 1-0 pb successful their Test series against Pakistan, but 1 of the talking points arsenic records tumbled was the 22-yard portion successful Multan.

And it could beryllium much of the aforesaid successful the 2nd Test, which begins connected Tuesday, arsenic the 2 teams conscionable again astatine the aforesaid venue.

So what should the England and Pakistan bowlers expect erstwhile they person enactment their feet up for a time oregon 2 and rested their weary limbs? And wherefore was determination specified a fuss astir this latest pitch?

The placid quality of the Multan aboveground made batting look casual astatine times successful the archetypal Test - well, if you came from Yorkshire that is!

Harry Brook, who became England's archetypal triple centurion for 34 years, shared a concern of 454 with Joe Root, beating the erstwhile champion of 411 made by Colin Cowdrey and Peter May 57 years ago.

It came arsenic England posted 823-7 declared - the fourth-highest full successful Test past - successful effect to Pakistan's 556, earlier bowling the hosts retired for 220 connected the last day.

Former England skipper Michael Atherton pulled nary punches with his appraisal of the transportation utilized for the match.

"It's a shocking Test-match pitch," Atherton said connected Sky Sports.

"If you don't person that equilibrium betwixt bat and ball, you're going to get a batch of mediocre cricket. So not a bully transportation contempt the information determination was a result."

Ex-England skipper Nasser Hussain said the aboveground was emblematic of pitches successful Pakistan and that the extremity effect "does not warrant everything that went earlier it".

So precisely however overmuch of a bowlers' graveyard was the transportation for the archetypal Test?

Well, since Test cricket returned to Pakistan successful 2019 determination person been 16 Tests wherever ball-tracking has been disposable to Cricviz.

Of those 16 Tests, this Multan transportation produced the second-lowest magnitude of mean plaything (0.63 degrees) but was the third-highest erstwhile it came to seam (0.53°).

It is possibly the spinners who toiled the astir - surely Pakistan's - with the magnitude of drift being the lowest of each 16 Tests (1.16°) and it was the fourth-lowest magnitude of crook (2.86°) seen successful that time.

When England were victorious successful Multan connected their past circuit of Pakistan successful 2022, the highest people successful the lucifer was made by the hosts successful the 4th innings - 328 - arsenic England wrapped up a 26-run win.

Former England seamer Steven Finn took a person look astatine the transportation expected to beryllium utilized for the 2nd match.

"It looks bedewed astatine the infinitesimal but implicit the people of the adjacent 3 days it volition adust and beryllium shaved down," Finn said.

"Getting the shot spinning and moving laterally, I think, is the mode Pakistan tin bushed England - if they tin astatine all.

"If they play them connected 'shirt fronts' similar they did during this archetypal Test lucifer it is England each the way."

Atherton, though, expects the groundstaff successful Multan to service up different featherbed.

"I don't spot however the transportation successful 3 days [for the adjacent Test] tin beryllium overmuch antithetic to what we've conscionable had rather frankly," helium said.

England's bowling onslaught mightiness not needfully hold with him, but Brook would not caput if helium has to instrumentality defender connected different batter-friendly deck.

"It was an unreal wicket. I would similar to rotation it up and instrumentality it with me," the Yorkshire batter joked.

The venue for England's 2nd Test successful Pakistan was switched little than 2 weeks earlier the series began.

It had been owed to beryllium played successful Karachi, but was shifted due to the fact that of renovation enactment astatine the National Stadium.

There were suggestions that immoderate oregon each of the bid could beryllium moved retired of Pakistan to different country. The United Arab Emirates was mentioned arsenic a imaginable destination.

England's 3rd Test against Pakistan - 24-28 October - volition beryllium held successful Rawalpindi.

Pakistan are acceptable to big the Champions Trophy aboriginal adjacent twelvemonth with Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi reported to beryllium hosting the games.

England look acceptable to marque a slightest 1 alteration for the 2nd Test with skipper Ben Stokes apt to beryllium available.

Stokes has not played since the opening of August due to the fact that of injury, which allowed Brydon Carse to marque his Test debut.

But Carse's awesome show with the shot would marque him hard to drop.

Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir finished with lucifer figures of 1-156 from 38 overs, which would look to marque his spot successful the squad vulnerable.

There person been 7 Test matches astatine Multan since the crushed opened successful 2001 and lone 3 bowlers person ever taken much than 5 wickets successful an innings determination - Abrar Ahmed, Danish Kaneria and Anil Kumble.

The communal theme? They are each leg-spinners.

England bash person a leg-spinner successful their squad successful the signifier of Rehan Ahmed, who took 5-48 connected his Test debut against Pakistan successful Karachi successful 2022.

If England are looking for a antithetic rotation option, the 20-year-old could travel into contention.