Pakistan captain Babar Azam disappointed with first Test pitch: "We wanted a track with some turn"

Some inaccurate bowling and the batters failing to "live up to the responsibility" contributed to the 74-run defeat to England in Rawalpindi, according to the skipper

Nick Howson | 05/12/2022 at 18:00

Babar Azam has expressed his dissatisfaction with the Rawalpindi pitch prepared for the first Test against England.

Ben Stokes' side stormed to a 74-run victory with just minutes to go on day five.

It was a contest dominated by the batters, with 1,768 runs scored across the four innings - the highest-scoring Test to deliver a result.

The Pakistan captain admits he asked for a turning track to bring his spinners, who took seven of the 17 England wickets to fall, into play.

"Yes my input was there in the preparation of the pitch and we made it clear what we wanted but we didn't get that because of the weather or whatever reason," he told the media. "But we wanted a track with some turn for the spinners."

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^{Pakistan inspect the Rawalpindi pitch before the first Test (AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images)}

Geo Super understand batting coach Mohammad Yousuf has travelled to Multan ahead of the squad to oversee arrangements for the second Test alongside chief curator Agha Zahid.

PCB chair Ramiz Raja said the surface was "embarrassing" and claimed, "we live in the dark ages of pitches in Pakistan".

England crushed 506 runs on day one as Pakistan's inexperienced attack were taken apart. Mohammad Ali, Zahir Mahmood and Haris Rauf all played their maiden Test, finishing with combined figures of 10 for 585 across the match.

"We were expecting they would continue to play like that against us," added Babar.

"I think it becomes difficult for a captain when your bowlers are not hitting the right areas and runs are being scored on both sides of the wicket. But full credit to them for the way they batted in both innings.

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Haris Rauf is out of the second Test (AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images)

"It is never easy to come back after the opposition scores 500 on the first day but I thought we batted well and came close to their total but in the second innings our batters didn't live up to the responsibility.

"I thought we were very much in the match till after lunch today to win the match unfortunately we lost back-to-back wickets and that didn't help. But (James) Anderson and (Ollie) Robinson bowled outstandingly well."

The hosts will be forced into at least one change for the second Test in Multan starting on Friday (December 9) after Rauf was ruled out with a quad injury.