Pakistan vs England | 3rd Test | Rawalpindi | October 24 - 28 | Pre-Match Discussion

[FearlessRoar]

Pakistan selectors, led by Aaqib Javed, are gearing up for the third Test against England by preparing a customized pitch at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The match is scheduled to take place from October 24-28.

Aiming to exploit home advantage, Aaqib has instructed ground staff to keep the entire square dry, replicating conditions similar to Multan. This move seeks to favor spinners, mirroring Pakistan's successful strategy in Multan.

With the series levelled 1-1 following Pakistan's recent victory over England, Aaqib is expected to inspect the pitch before the third Test to ensure optimal conditions.

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[BouncerGuy]

I want to see 2 changes for this game.

1: Abdullah out, Huraira In to play at 3 and Shan and Saim to open and if they want left-right combination then Huraira will open with Saim.

2: Zahid Mehmood out: Mir Hamza in

 

[Amjid Javed]

One of the two openers needs to be dropped they are walking wickets.

Naseem for zahid, we need a reverse swing specialist

 

[batandballbattle]

2: Zahid Mehmood out: Mir Hamza in

This will likely be the only changed player since he was the only one of the 2nd test changes that was extra baggage. They might even go with giving Mumtaz his debut if they want to be brash once more with 3 frontline spinners.

Shafique will likely get one last chance here, but Aqib's a bold figure so I wouldn't be surprised if he was switched too.

 

[BouncerGuy]

One of the two openers needs to be dropped they are walking wickets.

Naseem for zahid, we need a reverse swing specialist

Naseem cannot come in as he has been rested for 3rd game as well. Hamza will come in, he should for Zahid.

 

[Abid Z]

Why are people picking on Abdullah I don’t understand. Guy just made a hundred and of course if getting out to stupid shots is a crime , well just look at stokes and root dismissals. Abdulla needs patience. Saim needs dropping. Zahid is surplus to requirements.

I see only Mir hamza coming in for zahid. Possibly another opener instead of Saim.

The worst thing would be if it’s a completely flat pitch that does nothing for fast or spin bowlers for 3 days.

 

[Asif321]

Shafique has to be out

 

[hur rizvi]

Why are people picking on Abdullah I don’t understand. Guy just made a hundred and of course if getting out to stupid shots is a crime , well just look at stokes and root dismissals. Abdulla needs patience. Saim needs dropping. Zahid is surplus to requirements.

I see only Mir hamza coming in for zahid. Possibly another opener instead of Saim.

The worst thing would be if it’s a completely flat pitch that does nothing for fast or spin bowlers for 3 days.

Saims run in this match are much better than Abdullahs 100. Had it not been saim/Kamran partnership in first innings, Pakistan were doomed. He looks more assured of the two

 

[shah9425]

Zahid needs to be dropped

 

[neonoir]

Any chance Mohammad Abbas will get a call up, he's by far the best seamer Pak has produced in the past 10 years and light years ahead of the current crop of pacers.

It's a real shame if he never plays another match again for Pak he's literally ripping it up for Hampshire

 

[Abid Z]

Saims run in this match are much better than Abdullahs 100. Had it not been saim/Kamran partnership in first innings, Pakistan were doomed. He looks more assured of the two

You must be joking. Saim looks far from assured. There is nothing wrong with getting a bit of a go with a few tests, Going back to domestic or other formats and coming back once you’ve ironed out a few deficiencies. I’d rather see Saim coming in lower down the order and everybody shuffle up a spot.

Abdullah is also not good but it’s hard to drop a centurion and a double centurion at that. There are tough tours coming up. The lineup needs to settle.

But the opening dilemma isn’t the biggest problem it’s something Pakistan have grappled with for 20 years. The biggest issue is how to take 20 wickets on a flat pitch in pindi. We will only know on the day.

 

[Aqib_mustafa]

You must be joking. Saim looks far from assured. There is nothing wrong with getting a bit of a go with a few tests, Going back to domestic or other formats and coming back once you’ve ironed out a few deficiencies. I’d rather see Saim coming in lower down the order and everybody shuffle up a spot.

Abdullah is also not good but it’s hard to drop a centurion and a double centurion at that. There are tough tours coming up. The lineup needs to settle.

But the opening dilemma isn’t the biggest problem it’s something Pakistan have grappled with for 20 years. The biggest issue is how to take 20 wickets on a flat pitch in pindi. We will only know on the day.

Aqib already said he wants spin pitch at any cost in pindi

 

[hur rizvi]

You must be joking. Saim looks far from assured. There is nothing wrong with getting a bit of a go with a few tests, Going back to domestic or other formats and coming back once you’ve ironed out a few deficiencies. I’d rather see Saim coming in lower down the order and everybody shuffle up a spot.

Abdullah is also not good but it’s hard to drop a centurion and a double centurion at that. There are tough tours coming up. The lineup needs to settle.

But the opening dilemma isn’t the biggest problem it’s something Pakistan have grappled with for 20 years. The biggest issue is how to take 20 wickets on a flat pitch in pindi. We will only know on the day.

No I am not joking. Saim is no Saeed Anwar but he looks better than Abdullah in recent tests ( Bangladesh and England).

Abdullah needs to sort out his technique, he keeps on getting bowled with straight deliveries for fun.


Abdullahs 100 in first test was much useless compared to saims 70 odd in this test

 

[mominsaigol]

Zahid needs to be dropped

So does rizwan

 

[Amjid Javed]

Naseem cannot come in as he has been rested for 3rd game as well. Hamza will come in, he should for Zahid.

Never rated hamza as a bowler, also he's not a huge reverse swing bowler either

 

[CerebralPatriot]

If they can change the squad again than drop Rizwan and bring in Safi and Mir Hamza in place of Zahid

 

[Amjid Javed]

Saim is incapable of scoring big runs consistently, we can't have passengers in team

 

[BouncerGuy]

If they can change the squad again than drop Rizwan and bring in Safi and Mir Hamza in place of Zahid

They dropped Sarfaraz to bring in Haseeb. Now you want to call him back for riz??

why not play Haseeb insteaD??

 

[aukhan]

If they can change the squad again than drop Rizwan and bring in Safi and Mir Hamza in place of Zahid

Sarfraz is past his prime. This is not 2020 anymore.

Mir Hamza should be part of the squad and the playing 11, he has earned his selection by outbowling Shaheen.

 

[emranabbas]

Sarfraz is past his prime. This is not 2020 anymore.

Mir Hamza should be part of the squad and the playing 11, he has earned his selection by outbowling Shaheen.

Is misbah can play till 42 why can't saifi bhai?

Saifi is on 37 still has 5 years in him

 

[hur rizvi]

Although sarfraz is past it but still on spin pitches he's better all of batsmen Pakistan currently have

 

[Aami]

Posters have short term memory syndrome. Keep going on about their likes/dislikes like pent up teenagers.
Who was the leading scorer for Pak v Bangladesh last series?

No harm in playing Zahid again, he might turn out to be the star in next game? ... but then again, could do with at least a half decent seamer?

The land of so called fast bowlers; Afridi, Naseem, M.Ali, Mir Hamza, Khurram, Haris, Husnain, Hasan Ali - mediocre, prima donnas, injured, tundlers, not up to it, useless!

 

[emranabbas]

Who is good player of spin other than saifi in domestic?

 

[CerebralPatriot]

Although sarfraz is past it but still on spin pitches he's better all of batsmen Pakistan currently have

Let's not forget that he has the best brain from all our players.

Him guiding Noman and Sajid will make life hell for the English.

 

[hur rizvi]

Any chances of Khurram shehzads recovery?

 

[hur rizvi]

Let's not forget that he has the best brain from all our players.

Him guiding Noman and Sajid will make life hell for the English.

The issue I see with sarf is his keeping. Turning pitches are difficult to keep and his keeping is not the same anymore

 

[Amjid Javed]

People asking for sarfaraz recall? Why not moin Khan? Rashid Latif? Or wasim bari?

 

[lucky_fish]

Abdullah reminds me very much of Hafeez...even in his style of play. I'm talking more test match Hafeez rather than T20 etc. He is a confidence player. The problem however is that in between the odd good 100 his scores are v poor. There's no in between.

England have the exact same issue with Pope.

However Abdullah is more vulnerable than Pope because the early wicket really does put us on the back foot.

Absolutely agree that Saims knock in this match 1st innings was worth much more than Abdullahs 100 in the 1st test. However if in honest I'm so yet to be convinced that Saim is s test match opener himself!

 

[Kianig89]

Shan has no confidence in Zahid so better leave him get Nasem in if he's fit

 

[followed]

Naseem is must. Naseem is only good pacer Pakistan have in tests.

I don't understand why they dropped him in the first place.

If Wasim jnr was fit he would have a good option as well. He can reverse the ball at pace.

 

[Buffet]

No super dead pitches please.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I would be surprised if we don't get another road.

 

[Barragan]

Let's see what the pitch is like first.

If it's the same, then bring Dahani or Naseem for zahid and Huraira for Abdullah

 

[Abid Z]

No I am not joking. Saim is no Saeed Anwar but he looks better than Abdullah in recent tests ( Bangladesh and England).

Abdullah needs to sort out his technique, he keeps on getting bowled with straight deliveries for fun.


Abdullahs 100 in first test was much useless compared to saims 70 odd in this test

I’ll take it as a joke. He’s no Saeed anwar for sure but he’s also not half as good as imran farhat.

A double century and a century buys a lot of time. Abdullah has earnt that. Sa hasn’t. He has a chance to impress in Zimbabwe soon. Right now that opening spot needs tightening. If pindi is flat and Pak bat first the first 5 overs against Carse will be impossible for Saim. He’s a walking wicket

 

[aukhan]

Is misbah can play till 42 why can't saifi bhai?

Saifi is on 37 still has 5 years in him

Misbah was performing consistently everywhere and still faced tons of abuse. Sarfraz on the other hand, has been a liability for years. If Sarfraz starts topping the domestic charts then I have no issue with his selection but we all know that won't happen.

 

[mominsaigol]

Misbah was performing consistently everywhere and still faced tons of abuse. Sarfraz on the other hand, has been a liability for years. If Sarfraz starts topping the domestic charts then I have no issue with his selection but we all know that won't happen.

It is a myth that Misbah performed consistently.

Chugging it at 20 sr and hitting a few fancy strokes to fraud your way to 70 and losing the game by killing rr is not performing.

True pakistan fans wanted him gone from odi way since 2011.

In test he was fine though.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Pitch will play a crucial role here.

 

[Ab Fan]

Good job. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh if they all produce pitches with early assistance for pacers and then spinners taking primary role from there on will help teams understand the value of playing quality spin.

Spin, swing, seam, pace, bounce all matters and a great player should be able to do well against all or most types of bowling.

 

[hur rizvi]

I’ll take it as a joke. He’s no Saeed anwar for sure but he’s also not half as good as imran farhat.

A double century and a century buys a lot of time. Abdullah has earnt that. Sa hasn’t. He has a chance to impress in Zimbabwe soon. Right now that opening spot needs tightening. If pindi is flat and Pak bat first the first 5 overs against Carse will be impossible for Saim. He’s a walking wicket

Well lets agree to disagree here and don't waste each other's time. I am not convinced by Abdullah's current version and you are not convinced by Saim, that's fine lets see where they stand in an year or two.

Just based on your logic a crucial 77 in a test win also earns you at least the next test. So, I don't believe Saim will be or should be dropped. Saim a walking wicket for carse on flat bed? I don't think so ...

I am not saying Abdullah should be dumped for good but he needs to spend some time working on his technical flaws which were probably not there when he was scoring proficiently.

 

[PakPremi]

Zahid is likely to be replaced by Mohd Ali who is better old ball bowler than Mir Hamza.
Fans hoping for spinning wickets will be disappointed as that was oy possible in Multan after playing on the used pitch back to back. For Rawalpindi they will be using pitch prepared fresh for testand its not possible to produce a pitch spins much there. They may try to Induce somethi g with abrasive brushes and hot air blowers.

 

[PakPremi]

A Abdullah in current form and confidence is likely to contribute less than Saim, and the later can also bowl if required.

 

[Nasty Naz]

Will be interesting to see what the pitch is like. Generally spinning tracks in Pindi don't happen and trying to make it into a spinning one turns it into a flat deck as we saw in previous series.

If Pakistan can produce a similar pitch like the last one, that will go a long way in helping Pakistan win its first bi-lateral series vs England since 2015.

 

[Devadwal]

Pitch will play a crucial role here.

According to most of PP member's pitch did not Play any part of 2nd test win so why is pitch that important fro 3rd test ??

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Well generally it should just be a game of skills but weak teams always bank on such little favors.

According to most of PP member's pitch did not Play any part of 2nd test win so why is pitch that important fro 3rd test ??

 

[PakHammer]

The squad has already been picked for the third test and Naseem is not there so won't be playing in the 3rd test.

My changes, Huraira for Abdullah and Mohammed Ali for Zahid. You can't go with one pacer again and Ali has a bit of pace if he lands it properly.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Let's see if they are able to prepare a spinning track in Rawalpindi which i think is quite difficult.

 

[mazkhan]

I would drop one of the openers leaning towards dropping shafique

I would go with

Saim
Masood
Ghulam
Saud
Rizwan
Agha
Jamal
Noman ali
Sajid khan
Mir hamza
Muhammad ali

 

[sweep_shot]

Pakistan must try to get a spin-friendly pitch. They can win the series if they do.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Rawalpindi is famous for its flat pitches. If the PCB curator didn't make any spin friendly pitch then Pakistan chances of winning are slim

 

[PakFan2010]

PCB should be organising a 4 day practice match on the Rawalpindi pitch.

It can't be that hard to find 22 players to play a match.

 

[RidiculousMan]

Shan says he would like the pitch to spin. So it's clear that the intention from here on is to create another rank turner and possibly play 3 spinners again

 

[topspin]

People asking for sarfaraz recall? Why not moin Khan? Rashid Latif? Or wasim bari?

I'm no fan of Sarfraz but one thing he was good was playing spin. If it's going to be another turner, it wouldn't be criminal to replace Rizwan with Sarfraz for this final test of this series.

 

[RidiculousMan]

I'm no fan of Sarfraz but one thing he was good was playing spin. If it's going to be another turner, it wouldn't be criminal to replace Rizwan with Sarfraz for this final test of this series.

I think they can give him that as a farewell Test match. He certainly won't and shouldn't be playing in South Africa Test series.

 

[Amjid Javed]

I'm no fan of Sarfraz but one thing he was good was playing spin. If it's going to be another turner, it wouldn't be criminal to replace Rizwan with Sarfraz for this final test of this series.

Sarfaraz is done at international level, his keeping is awful as well. Time to move on and not go backwards again

 

[gibsyhesperis]

It would be such an anticlimactic letdown if the Pindi pitch is a flat road.
Whilst producing raging turners may not be a long term strategy, for this crucial third test it would be a sound approach.

 

[ataullah]

Rawalpindi has always been flat and favoured pacers. Sajid Khan is an experienced domestic player and he said he's never seen the pindi pitch spin. It's impossible to prepare a spin pitch at pindi. Best bet is go with noman as specialist spinner and turn to pace. Take another gamble with a reverse swing specialist pacer and one with discipline and long spells. I would drop Abdullah as Saim looks more assured. Also drop Zahid.

My team:

Shan
Saim
Huraira
Ghulam
Saud
Rizwan
Agha
Jamal
Noman
Ali
Mir

 

[Cricket Warrior]

I would drop one of the openers leaning towards dropping shafique

I would go with

Saim
Masood
Ghulam
Saud
Rizwan
Agha
Jamal
Noman ali
Sajid khan
Mir hamza
Muhammad ali

Jamal is of no use... its better to pick a specialist bowler or batter in his place.

 

[khyberlion]

Please drop zahid. Not sure why he was selected in first place.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Jamal is of no use... its better to pick a specialist bowler or batter in his place.

I think he should play. He can bat. If it is a spn track, He can come in handy with the bat and no other pacer is gonna do any better.

 

[mon858]

I would fins guys to start playing 90 overs every day till day of test match for getting pitch crumbly ready.
I would also consider replacing Zahid with Faisal Akram , they wont be able to read him properly aside from pitch help.
No change to batting.

 

[BouncerGuy]

To keep the pitch dry, Rawalpindi Stadium has been equipped with heaters and large fans.

Pakistan wants another rank-turner for the 3rd test.

 

[hur rizvi]

I would fins guys to start playing 90 overs every day till day of test match for getting pitch crumbly ready.
I would also consider replacing Zahid with Faisal Akram , they wont be able to read him properly aside from pitch help.
No change to batting.

Third spinner is a useless entity also puts too much emphasis on winning the toss

 

[ataullah]

To keep the pitch dry, Rawalpindi Stadium has been equipped with heaters and large fans.

Pakistan wants another rank-turner for the 3rd test.

Silly idea or genius? Looks a very flat pitch

 

[kingusama92]

To keep the pitch dry, Rawalpindi Stadium has been equipped with heaters and large fans.

Pakistan wants another rank-turner for the 3rd test.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens cause I don't think I've ever seen that pitch become a rank-turner. It usually holds up well.

Maybe they can manage to pull it off with these methods.

 

[James]

2nd Test pitch was unique in the sense that it was a used pitch, which in Test cricket has never been done before and possibly won’t be tried again. The conditions, soil, ground maintenance routines, curation skill levels (etc) remain the same. These things haven’t changed in Pakistan because of a used pitch and they won’t change overnight. To perfect the art of preparing a rank turner from the first session on a NEW pitch, if this is even achievable, will take years.

 

[TheSultan]

I want to see 2 changes for this game.

1: Abdullah out, Huraira In to play at 3 and Shan and Saim to open and if they want left-right combination then Huraira will open with Saim.

2: Zahid Mehmood out: Mir Hamza in

Mir Hamza? Bro the 3 spinner strategy is getting boring, bring in a pacer

 

[BouncerGuy]

Mir Hamza? Bro the 3 spinner strategy is getting boring, bring in a pacer

Mir Hamza is a pacer. brother. He is not quick but do you want haris to play???

 

[adi_62941]

Tukka aik dafa lagta hai
They should prepare a pitch with some grass to help fast bowlers. Going again with 3 spinners will be a nonsense decision and useless for 3rd spinner. Play 2 quicks and 2 spinners.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Naseem is must. Naseem is only good pacer Pakistan have in tests.

I don't understand why they dropped him in the first place.

If Wasim jnr was fit he would have a good option as well. He can reverse the ball at pace.

He is quicker and fitter than most of the Pak pacers and has some minimal batting ability as welll. I think he can be a good addition to the test side. But obviously he should be able to bowl multiple spells at good pace which is something he can only develop by playing more FC cricket.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Wasim Jnr is nowhere near good enough for test level. No need to even look at such mediocre bowling options.

 

[RidiculousMan]

Tukka aik dafa lagta hai
They should prepare a pitch with some grass to help fast bowlers. Going again with 3 spinners will be a nonsense decision and useless for 3rd spinner. Play 2 quicks and 2 spinners.

They should try to prepare the same pitch and play a pacer instead of Zahid

 

[RidiculousMan]

Sarfaraz is done at international level, his keeping is awful as well. Time to move on and not go backwards again

Yep. One problem is even if Sarfraz is good against spin. England will have pacers in their line up and they'll know that. One high 130s full delivery will do the job

 

[HARKS]

Whatever pitch is ,if u lose the toss then I don't think pakistan batsmen can handle spin in 4th innings. Even if it spins definitely it will take 2 sessions to fully take effect ,with in that england would have scored 200+

 

[Amjid Javed]

A lot of focus of spin being key in pindi.

At same time our batting as a unit has to improve. Barring Ghulam and Agha, none of rest of line up looking like are applying themselves enough to get big runs. The top 3 inparticular look woeful.

 

[Major]

These Fans:





So there were alot of jokes going on at the Cricinfo commentary, where they kept saying the Industrial fans are on their way to Rawalpindi to make the pitch a spinning track.
There was a time when Pakistan used to travel with a Kala Pathar (black marble slab) for practices against bounce. It looks like these fans will become a part of the Pakistan Cricket Folk.

Question, can these fans turn the flattest wicket on Earth into a spinning track in a weeks time?

It hasnt rained in Rawalpindi for more than 2 weeks now, so trust me there isnt really anything to dryout.

 

[Rana]

These Fans:





So there were alot of jokes going on at the Cricinfo commentary, where they kept saying the Industrial fans are on their way to Rawalpindi to make the pitch a spinning track.
There was a time when Pakistan used to travel with a Kala Pathar (black marble slab) for practices against bounce. It looks like these fans will become a part of the Pakistan Cricket Folk.

Question, can these fans turn the flattest wicket on Earth into a spinning track in a weeks time?

It hasnt rained in Rawalpindi for more than 2 weeks now, so trust me there isnt really anything to dryout.

Not as big as Misbah fans

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

These Fans:





So there were alot of jokes going on at the Cricinfo commentary, where they kept saying the Industrial fans are on their way to Rawalpindi to make the pitch a spinning track.
There was a time when Pakistan used to travel with a Kala Pathar (black marble slab) for practices against bounce. It looks like these fans will become a part of the Pakistan Cricket Folk.

Question, can these fans turn the flattest wicket on Earth into a spinning track in a weeks time?

It hasnt rained in Rawalpindi for more than 2 weeks now, so trust me there isnt really anything to dryout.

The proof is in the pudding. I don't trust any of the chatter around pitches in Pakistan; how much it has been watered, how many industrial sized fans are being used, how much grass has been left on the surface... We have heard all these things numerous times before and in the end the pitch was still ended up being a flat road.

 

[Aqib_mustafa]

The proof is in the pudding. I don't trust any of the chatter around pitches in Pakistan; how much it has been watered, how many industrial sized fans are being used, how much grass has been left on the surface... We have heard all these things numerous times before and in the end the pitch was still ended up being a flat road.

Bro so are we getting spin pitch aqib clearly has said that how he wants a spin pitch?

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Bro so are we getting spin pitch aqib clearly has said that how he wants a spin pitch?

Hope for the best bro. I have given up taking them on their word.

 

[RidiculousMan]

These Fans:





So there were alot of jokes going on at the Cricinfo commentary, where they kept saying the Industrial fans are on their way to Rawalpindi to make the pitch a spinning track.
There was a time when Pakistan used to travel with a Kala Pathar (black marble slab) for practices against bounce. It looks like these fans will become a part of the Pakistan Cricket Folk.

Question, can these fans turn the flattest wicket on Earth into a spinning track in a weeks time?

It hasnt rained in Rawalpindi for more than 2 weeks now, so trust me there isnt really anything to dryout.

What has Pakistan got to lose. They were going to play on flat pitch anyway