Saud Shakeel lamented Pakistan’s inability to struggle through difficult circumstances following yet another poor batting performance at Edgbaston.
After getting bowled out in 33.5 overs on the finest batting pitch of the series, Saud Shakeel acknowledged his team’s “making the same mistakes” and pushed them to persevere through difficult patches.
“The pitch will improve as the Test progresses, but it had juice early on,” Shakeel observed. “We didn’t win the toss, but we lost and batted first, and England benefited from the cloudy conditions.
The pitch improved during the day, providing an opportunity to form a partnership. Even England’s top order battled with the new ball, so it was critical to get it out.
Pakistan, on the other hand, seems to have no intention of doing so. Instead, their top five failed to reach double figures, a first in a Test match’s first innings in England. The tenth-wicket stand between Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Ali lasted 46 balls, easily the longest of the innings.
It wasn’t due to any defect of the pitch either. Pakistan’s stroke selection in the first session was lacking, including Azan Awais’ dink to midwicket and Shan Masood’s back foot jab that resulted in a simple catch. “It’s depressing; we’re making the same mistake as a batting unit,” Saud Shakeel stated.
“We’re leaving in large numbers, and there were several easy dismissals today. We’re trying, but it’s irritating to constantly making the same mistakes.
I don’t believe it’s a confidence issue. If you lack the confidence to compete at this level, you do not deserve to play here. However, in challenging conditions, bad form might be difficult to overcome.
Saud Shakeel is the only one who appears to be emerging out of a rough spell.
From being recognised as a bad traveller outside Asia, he has scored 140 runs in his previous two innings and is easily Pakistan’s leading scorer in the series. He has demonstrated the capacity to scrape his way out of difficult situations, playing a game much beyond of his comfort zone in a genuine attempt at flexibility.
At Lord’s, he focused on the short ball, but here, he went after the bowling, which was a significant change from his usual attrition style.”I try to play based on the demands of any situation,” he stated.
“With wickets tumbling around me, the best option for me was to score as many runs as possible. So I was batting faster to adapt to the conditions around me.”
However, he felt Pakistan had been surprised by how beneficial the wickets have been to bowlers, which they did not expect given how the summer in England transpired.”
The conditions were difficult, particularly at Lord’s,” he explained. “Over there, even Joe Root struggled and had a tough series. I was astonished by the situation here.
If you compare the New Zealand series to this one, you will notice a lot of lateral movement. We’re not used to it, perhaps. But we were doing our best. We recognise our batting shortcomings, but the conditions favour the bowlers.”
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