Funky fields, different strategies - England have thrown everything they have at Pakistan as they try to bag the third Test. ©AFP
At the conclusion of the second Test, a Pakistani journalist asked Joe Root in the post-match press conference whether he would be willing to tour Pakistan in the future. England are set to visit in 2022. Root's answer was simple: yes, he would love to. Not least because he fancies a few runs. "The wickets look nice and flat which will be a nice change to what we have just played on here," England's captain joked.
The surface for the second Test was certainly no picnic for batsmen. That's nothing new. For the last four seasons, batting in England has been terribly difficult. Sir Alastair Cook said his last two summers of Test cricket were the most difficult he had encountered. Much of the struggle has stemmed from the pitches, which have offered prodigious movement to the fast-bowlers in particular, and also to the weather which has tended to offer atmospheric assistance to help the ball swing. A double whammy of batting kryptonite.
Of the 76 players to have batted in the top six in at least two Test matches in England since the start of 2017, only 12 average more than 40. The only players to average more than 50? The very best of the current Test match batsmen. Steve Smith, who averages a ridiculous 110.57, Virat Kohli, Babar Azam and Marnus Labuschagne. After his double hundred in this game, Zak Crawley is averaging 69.50 in England. Remarkably, no opening partnership has averaged more than 35 in that time.
The conditions have provided for some enthralling, see-sawing cricket. The game is always at its most entertaining when ball slightly dominates bat. Who really wants to watch first innings scores of 600 play 600? But perhaps England could do with playing on a few more pitches at home like this one for the third Test at the Ageas Bowl? After all, if they want to improve away from home, these are the sort of batting-friendly surfaces they are going to encounter. These are the sort of surfaces they need to find a cutting edge for.
