England opener Zak Crawley described the challenges that await his team in their five Test series in Pakistan, which is set to begin here in Multan on Monday. Temps will soar to 37 degrees Celsius, pollution levels will be soaring too, and the country’s inexperienced fast-bowling line-up is gearing up for what Crawley has described as a “test of character and skill.”.
They had arrived in Multan earlier this week to practice for the first two of the three-match series under intense conditions increased by air pollution at 27 times the safe limit, according to IQAir. Still, Crawley remains optimistic. “We have everything in place to counter that,” he said, after a finger injury forced him to sit out of the home series against Sri Lanka.
They’ve got a lot of skill, these young boys,” Crawley said. “Youth energy will serve as a boon for them. England’s relatively inexperienced pace attack-actually quite young-was the specific task for Crawley. Young bowlers like Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Gus Atkinson, Olly Stone, and Chris Woakes have stepped up after the legends James Anderson and Stuart Broad retired.
For most of these players, this is their first Test tour to Pakistan. England were last here in 2022, when they achieved a historic 3-0 clean sweep over Pakistan. Crawley, one of the eight men returning from that victorious squad, feels their aggressive “Bazball” will once again put tremendous pressure on the Pakistan cricket team, which has struggled terribly too.
The Pakistan red-ball performance has been pathetic lately, losing all the five Test matches under skipper Shan Masood, including an unprecedented 2-0 defeat of a series at home to Bangladesh. He cannot wait to go out and contribute as England prepares for the take-off on Tuesday. “The finger is good, and I am absolutely raring to go. I can’t wait,” he shared.
The second Test is on 15th October at Multan, and the last of the Tests will be played out in Rawalpindi on 24th October.
