Pakistan batter Saud Shakeel believes that the hot weather conditions in England could favour his team’s spin bowlers ahead of the first ICC World Test Championship (WTC) match against England at Headingley, Leeds, starting August 19.
Shakeel noted that during Pakistan’s recent Test series against New Zealand, the ball was “spinning plenty”, suggesting similar conditions might emerge in the upcoming series. Pakistan will be bringing multiple spin options, including Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, and left-arm spinner Ali Usman, to complement their attack.
Pakistan enters the three-match WTC series on the back of strong recent performances, having defeated the West Indies by eight wickets in Port of Spain earlier this month and secured a seven-wicket win against a Professional County Club Select XI at Beckenham. Shakeel played a pivotal role in the latter, scoring an unbeaten century, while Ali Usman took a five-wicket haul, continuing his good form from the West Indies matches.
Although uncertain about the exact pitch conditions at Headingley, Shakeel expressed optimism that the recent hot summer in England could produce dry surfaces conducive to spin bowling. “I think the way the summer is here in England, the pitches might become quite dry and bring spin into it,” he said, as quoted by the ICC. “In the (recent) New Zealand series here, in the last Test the ball was spinning plenty,” he added.
The upcoming Test will be Shakeel’s first in England, although he has previous county experience from the 2023 County Championship with Yorkshire, where he scored 71 runs in five innings.
Meanwhile, England will be under new leadership as Joe Root takes over as captain and Stephen Fleming as head coach, following the retirements of former skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum after their defeat to New Zealand in the last series. It remains to be seen whether England will maintain the aggressive “Bazball” style of cricket championed by Stokes and McCullum or adopt a more conditions-based approach.
Shakeel emphasised Pakistan’s readiness to adapt to any tactics employed by England. “Every Test is challenging. Test cricket brings a new challenge every day. This is no different, and we are trying to make sure we give the best account of ourselves here,” he stated.
He added, “We are not thinking of the series in terms of Bazball. You should play according to the conditions and requirements. On this ground, the outfield is very fast, and that might suit attacking shot play. But we are not going to change our playing style just because of how the opposition are playing. We aim to play the way we think is the best way to play.”
The series schedule is as follows: first Test from August 19 to 23 at Headingley; second Test from August 27 to 31 at Lord’s; and third Test from September 9 to 13 at Edgbaston.