RAWALPINDI: On a dry Rawalpindi field that is predicted to take spin, England selected Rehan Ahmed as a third slow bowler on Tuesday for the series-deciding final Test match against Pakistan.
When the game starts on Thursday, the 20-year-old leg-spinner will join left-armer Jack Leach and off-break bowler Shoaib Bashir to form a three-pronged spin attack.
England won the first Test by an innings and 47 runs in Multan, tying the three-match series at one.
Pakistan won the second game by 152 runs on the same ground, and their spinners claimed all 20 wickets.
Fast bowlers Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse were dropped from the team, and seam bowler Gus Atkinson was called up.
According to a statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), “there are two changes from the second Test in Multan: leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed is included and seamer Gus Atkinson returns.”
For the first time since a Test match against India in Rajkot earlier this year, Rehan, who claimed five wickets in his Test debut in Karachi during England’s crushing 3-0 sweep of Pakistan in 2022, is included.
PITCH EXAMINATION
Another grassless pitch was made at Rawalpindi, where Pakistan used patio heaters and industrial-sized fans to dry the area, which led England to decide to bring in a third spinner.
As the hosts attempted to dry the surface in an attempt to duplicate the spin-led victory from the previous week, the pitch was being closely examined on Tuesday.
Before the team’s practice on Tuesday, England captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum conducted a thorough inspection of the field.
Harry Brook, a batsman for England, told reporters, “Everyone goes and looks at the wicket and everybody says something different.”
“Hopefully, it will be a good pitch to bat on for the first few days, just like any other Pakistani pitch, and toward the end of the game, we should see some turnout.”
The hosts eventually figured out how to capitalize on the advantage after Pakistan won the second Test in Multan, their first home triumph in over four years.
However, Pakistani batsman Saud Shakeel lamented that the national team had lost out on chances to defeat teams like England, Australia, and New Zealand, who were all visiting the nation in the 2022–2023 season.
He told reporters, “I think we have been a bit late in deciding these things.” “We should be clear about our combination and pitch preparation, for instance, if England is coming.”
With Zahid Mahmood as a third spinner and Muhammad Ali as the second pacer, Saud hinted that Pakistan would try to field three spinners in the Rawalpindi Test as well.
Saud said, “We’ll try to repeat the same strategy.” “We’ll stick with that strategy if our spin group keeps taking wickets and making things difficult for the opposition.”
Given their first-class cricket expertise, Saud hailed Noman and Sajid’s performance in the most recent Test and predicted that they will be instrumental in Pakistan’s attempt at a rare series victory.
“It was obvious on the field, considering the cricket Noman has played and his experience,” he remarked. “You know they will attack if you play against a team like England, but both of them displayed their experience.”
They know how to bowl in these circumstances because they have played a lot of first-class cricket. Hopefully, they will help us win the third game by making a similar contribution.
Ben Stokes (captain), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, and Shoaib Bashir make up the England squad for the third Test.
