England’s Test series in Pakistan is about more than just cricket
When the opening batsman faces the first ball of tomorrow’s Test series between Pakistan and England in Rawalpindi on the outskirts of Islamabad, it will represent far more than just another five-day cricket match.
Pakistani cricket has long been dogged by the shadow of security fears, but that has faded of late and the proud nation will host England, a side so many locals have been looking forward to witnessing in their stadia.
Here are the main talking points ahead of this hugely significant Test series.
Cricket symbolism
England haven’t toured Pakistan for a Test series since 2005 – when the likes of Michael Vaughan, Paul Collingwood, Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff were gracing the creases under Duncan Fletcher – and it was way over a decade between their last last tour in the country and autumn’s Twenty20 series.
This, then, represents a symbolic return for England to the cricket-mad nation and a move towards more regular Test series in Pakistan.
The Shaheens have hosted Australia, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and the West Indies in the last two years but England represent a different beast: a team who will go after Pakistan – and the host nation will enjoy going after England, too.
History suggests that the Test series may be a bit of a dud. England have toured Pakistan multiple times since the 1950s and have drawn 18 of the 24 matches, winning two to the host nation’s four.
So although the statistics indicate that the sides could be in for a lacklustre series, everybody is hoping it will be anything but.
The Pakistani fans have made their welcome to the travelling nation known and there’s almost a feeling of the cricket being the winner despite any result, though everybody knows that’s not the case when push comes to shove.
Swat it long
The bright new era of Test cricket in England has seen a side under Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum fight to score off every ball.
It hasn’t been perfect but, on the whole, it has produced good results. England have beaten South Africa, New Zealand and India this year but have done so on home soil. How they cope away from hope on the pitches of Pakistan will be a new challenge.
“It’s a completely different team we’re playing against, in completely different conditions. It’s about adapting when we get out there,” bowler James Anderson said yesterday.
“We don’t know how it’s going to play. Traditionally it is flat [the wicket]. We’ll come out and try to win the game. We might have to be creative in how we do that.”
Down and out
England, for all of their depth and prowess, will be without both Stuart Broad and Mark Wood for the opening Test tomorrow.
Broad remained in the United Kingdom to ensure he was present for the early months of his child’s life, who was born last week.
Wood is with the cricket squad in Pakistan but misses the opening five-day match due to an ongoing hip injury.
The duo are key to England’s bowling attack but that won’t stop the touring side going after the Pakistani batting line up.
“With the ball we’re trying to take wickets,” paceman Anderson added. “The captain and coach have made that quite clear – every time you run in to bowl it’s about taking wickets. It’s not about controlling the run-rate, it’s about how we’re going to get 20 wickets.”
A foreign tour is a mindset shift for England but they’re unbeaten in Test series this summer and will want to see themselves thrive against tough opposition in some of the harshest cricketing conditions on the planet.