Early declarations, funky selections and more: Ben Gardner tries to make sense of Pakistan's defeat to Bangladesh, wondering if they're trying to copy England's approach without trying to understand it.
What on earth are Pakistan doing? It’s a question that could have been asked at any point in the last eight days, from the moment they released Abrar Ahmed from their squad, signalling their intention to play an all-pace attack days out from the first Rawalpindi Test, to the moment part-time spinner Salman Ali Agha - turns out they did need some spin after all - fired down the leg-side, Zakir Hasan paddle-sweeping for four to seal a ten-wicket win in a game Pakistan had been in a position to dictate.
You can say Pakistan misread conditions, but really, they didn’t even open the book, assuming they knew what they would get half a week out from the game. Had it been a seamer’s paradise, three quicks may well have been enough in any case. Instead, Salman was the most used bowler in that first innings. It also spoke to a misunderstanding of how Test cricket often plays out in Pakistan. Big total plays big total, and then the game accelerates towards a result late in the game, with spin often coming into it on the last day. It’s like a cycling sprint race, in which you have to ensure you’re in the right position for the final surge
That brings us to the declaration. Rain shortening the game had made judging the timing tricky, but still, it was baffling. With Mohammad Rizwan closing in on a double and Shaheen Shah Afridi assuming his T20 finisher’s mantle, runs were flowing as quickly as they would all Test. As Bangladesh showed, there was time enough to make a total in excess of 550 and still have time to force a result, and Pakistan’s was unlikely to be a ‘bat once’ score. Crashing another 100 runs and pulling out late on day two would have made a Pakistan win more likely, not less, increasing the chances of the follow-on, heaping on scoreboard pressure, and giving Bangladesh no route back in. Had the pitch been as they imagined it at the toss, 448 would have been plenty. But by that point, they’d had close to two days batting on it to realise taking wickets wasn’t a given.
Also read: How many teams have lost a Test match after declaring in the first innings?
Even still, given the state of the pitch, survival should have been possible. There was a little more help for the spinners, Shaheen in particular done by one that kept low, but the seven wickets shared by Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz was more down to Pakistan’s mindset, wickets offered up in a string of rash shots. Saud Shakeel’s swipe down the wicket is the most egregious, not least because of the contrast to his first-innings century. Babar Azam and Shan Masood also threw their hands at wide deliveries. Rizwan can perhaps be forgiven, given he was batting with the tail. And Pakistan didn’t even manage to score quickly, ticking along at just over two and a half an over. Conceding a lead of over 100 with a little over a day to play, all hopes of a win should have gone, but Pakistan’s strokes suggested a team unhappy with settling for a stalemate.
This reveals a greater influence over Pakistan’s approach: Ben Stokes’ England. Pakistan have been the side most thoroughly Bazballed among all of them, a 3-0 win in Pakistan the statement result for Brendon McCullum’s team. Since then, they have become acolytes. “Test cricket has changed,” asserted Masood when he took over as captain. “As a batting unit our scoring rate has to improve and we need to be equipped and determined to take 20 wickets. These are the basics of Test matches. We will try and do our best to do these things properly. We have spoken together as a team to play with a positive mindset and an aggressive mindset. Whenever we get an opportunity to put the opposition under pressure, we will look to jump on it.”
There have been some positive signs. A 2-0 series win in Sri Lanka came via a positive approach. But at times they have seemed to try to copy what England have done without fully understanding it. England name their XIs a day out? We’ll give you our team balance three days from the game. England do funky selections? How does no spinner on a flat pitch sound? England declare with runs to be had and their best batter going like a dream? Sorry Rizwan, no double for you. England throw away their wickets rashly? Shakeel, if you wouldn’t mind.
Even before Masood, Babar had tried to ape Stokes, most strikingly with a declaration that set New Zealand 138 to win in 15 overs. Ten wickets, it was clear to anyone, was impossible. The run rate was at least theoretically doable. It was nonsense, even if the game did end in a draw.
Shan Masood explained Pakistan's reasoning for not opting to play any frontline spinner in the Rawalpindi Test against Bangladesh, which they eventually lost by ten wickets despite declaring in the first innings.
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) August 25, 2024
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Still, if you want the real reason Pakistan lost to Bangladesh at Rawalpindi, it’s because this team is fraying round the edges and isn’t as good as it thinks it is. Not long ago, Babar had managed to create a bubble, the team a happy camp insulated from the outside noise. But a succession of sackings and appointments, punctuated by poor performances, have disrupted the environment. The hangover of a group stage exit at the T20 World Cup could be felt here, and tempers boiled as Masood and head coach Jason Gillespie were captured in a frank exchange of views.
On paper, this batting line-up should have been capable of easing to safety, and its bowling attack of blowing Bangladesh away. But Babar has regressed, Shaheen has regressed, the youngsters can’t make the grade and the holes are there to see. Pakistan have now gone nine Tests without a win at home. Should that run extend to ten, giving Bangladesh a historic series win, the fallout could be mammoth.
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