Pakistan uses fans, heaters to prepare spin-friendly pitch for England Test decider in Rawalpindi

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has been preparing a cricket pitch to assist spinners in the final match and Test series decider against England by using “industrial-sized fans, windbreakers and outdoor heaters” to dry out the surface, reported a leading cricket website on Tuesday.

The South Asian nation beat England in the second Test, following Pakistani spinner Sajid Khan’s seven-wicket haul, assisted by spinner Nauman Ali. Both bowlers shared all 20 wickets as England was bowled out for 144 in their final innings.

The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, where the final match will be played, has one of the flattest pitches in the country. Last month, Bangladesh offspinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz took 10 wickets at the same venue in a 2-0 win against Pakistan.

“Pakistan have stepped up attempts to prepare a spinning pitch for their Test series decider against England, using industrial-sized fans, outdoor heaters and windbreakers in a bid to dry out the surface at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium,” ESPNcricinfo said in a report.

It quoted Pakistani Captain Shan Masood as saying he would like to see an “uncharacteristic Rawalpindi pitch” for the decider beginning Thursday.

England Head Coach Brendon McCullum predicted that the pitch would be “the antithesis of a green seamer.”

Commenting on the pitch, the leading wicket-taker of the series, Jack Leach, told the BBC a day earlier that he did not know what to expect as he had not seen anything like this before.

“We’ll go to training and have a look at it. I feel quite clear about what I’m doing, and that doesn’t change depending on the wicket. We’ll see what it is.”

England’s 3-0 whitewash on their last trip to Pakistan in 2022 was the first clean sweep by any visiting team in the country and plunged the hosts into a slump that left them winless in 10 home Tests until the last one in Multan.