England coach Brendon McCullum has warned his team that replicating their 2022 success in Pakistan in the three-match Test series which begins on Monday will be a difficult task in the “rising” Multan heat.
England’s 3-0 2022 win over Pakistan was McCullum’s first away series as head coach of the England team.
The series came as a shock for Pakistan as it was the first ever series where an away cricket team managed to secure a 3–0 victory against the team on their home soil.
Previously, England had played 24 Tests in Pakistan, winning just two, making the 3-0 victory even more remarkable.
For the three-match Test series, Pakistan look vulnerable with their recent home defeat to Bangladesh by 2-0, but McCullum expects the team to bounce back and give England a tough time.
“What we achieved a few years ago was immense and we are very proud of it, but if we look at the history of touring teams here in Pakistan, it is probably an exception rather than anything else,” said McCullum quoted by Independent.
The coach reiterated that he and his team were “realistic” and that they were aware that they were going to play against a tough core.
“We are very realistic going into the series that we are going to have to play well against a very proud sporting nation. Pakistan, on its own terms, as history suggests, is an extremely difficult task,” he said. -he added. .
McCullum added that the Pakistan team “is going to be very competitive to topple us as well. It’s not going to be easy.”
Putting aside the skill and ferocity of Pakistani cricketers, the series will pose additional challenges to England players who last played in the country in December 2022, when the weather was colder; it doesn’t remind you of the stifling heat of October.
The former New Zealand captain admitted temperatures were “freezing” during their last visit to the country.
“I think it was about 20 degrees the last time we were here. We had sweaters on in the morning and it was chilly at night. The air conditions are a little more extreme, so that’s going to present its own challenges,” he declared. said.
His players began to familiarize themselves with the country’s conditions with the usual rounds on the golf course and McCullum said it was indeed “very hot, very difficult.”
“The first few days we got here, when we were on the golf course, it was very hot, it was very difficult to hold your club, so that was one of our biggest concerns. But since then, we seem to have gotten used to it,” the coach added.
Play XI for the first test:
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (C), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel (VC), Mohammad Rizwan (Wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (C), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinso, Brydon Carse (debut), Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir.
Calendar:
October 7-11 – First test, Multan
October 15-19 – Second Test, Multan
October 24-28 – Third Test, Rawalpindi