Cricket

England's head coach Brendon McCullum has expressed disappointment over his team's 2-1 series defeat to Pakistan, acknowledging that they "had an opportunity to have been better than that." After a dominant victory in the first Test, England succumbed to back-to-back losses in Multan and Rawalpindi, where Pakistan's spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali wreaked havoc.McCullum admitted that he was surprised it took Pakistan until the second Test to prepare spinning pitches, a tactic that has been England's undoing on recent tours of the subcontinent. He praised the Pakistani spinners for their exceptional bowling, but emphasized that England's batsmen failed to adapt to the challenging conditions.Despite the defeat, McCullum remains confident in his team's batting group, which he believes is the best England has. However, he acknowledged that they need to improve their ability to handle spin-friendly surfaces. The focus will also fall on England's spinners, who were outperformed by their Pakistani counterparts.McCullum emphasized that England will learn from their mistakes and use the lessons from this series to improve their performance in future matches on spinning pitches. He stressed the importance of holding firm during difficult periods and seeking continuous improvement.

Virat Kohli's struggles against spinners in Asian conditions continued in the second Test against New Zealand in Pune. Chasing a daunting target of 359, India lost two quick wickets before Kohli and Washington Sundar steadied the innings with a 20-run partnership.However, Mitchell Santner dismissed Kohli leg-before wicket for 17, leaving India in a precarious position. Kohli's dismissal marked the first time a left-arm spinner had dismissed him in both innings of a Test match.Santner's brilliance continued as he bowled Sarfaraz Khan for 9, completing his second five-wicket haul of the match. He became the first New Zealand spinner to claim two five-wicket hauls in a single Test on Indian soil since Steve O'Keefe in 2017.Santner's performance put New Zealand in a commanding position as India struggled to chase down the target. His guile and accuracy proved too much for the Indian batters, who were unable to cope with his variations.Kohli's dismissal highlighted his ongoing difficulties against spinners in Asian conditions. Despite his impressive record against pace bowlers, he has struggled to adapt to the slower, turning pitches of the subcontinent.Santner's success against Kohli and the Indian batters demonstrated the importance of spin bowling in Asian conditions. Spinners can exploit the dry, dusty pitches to create turn and variation, making it difficult for batters to score runs.As the series progresses, India will need to find a way to counter the threat posed by Santner and other spinners. If they are unable to do so, they may struggle to win the series and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Pakistan's offspinner Sajid Khan has emerged as a thorn in England's side, not only with his on-field antics but also with his cunning tactics. Beyond his signature mustache twirls and thigh thumps, Khan has found a novel way to unsettle the English: exploiting the bilingualism of their spin bowlers.During the fourth ball of the 86th over, Khan and teammate Saud Shakeel engaged in a seemingly innocuous conversation in Urdu, unaware that the stump mic was capturing their words. However, Khan's true intentions were far from innocent."We were only doing that [speaking loudly in Urdu] to deceive the bowlers," Khan revealed. "Rehan and Shoaib understand Urdu, so to fool them, we wanted them to hear we were only looking for the single."The strategy worked to perfection. The English bowlers, assuming Pakistan was playing defensively, adjusted their field accordingly. This gave Khan the opportunity to unleash his power, launching Shoaib Bashir over midwicket for a six.Khan's deception continued in the following over, where he plundered two more sixes and a boundary off Bashir. The English bowlers, now thoroughly bamboozled, spread the field out, only to see Khan clear the rope with ease.England's spin bowler Rehan Ahmed, while acknowledging Khan's impressive innings, dismissed the claims of deception. "He didn't fool me at all, he just said it for the media," Ahmed said. "I didn't even hear him."Despite Ahmed's denial, Khan's tactics have undoubtedly played a role in Pakistan's growing lead. By exploiting the language barrier, Khan has created confusion and doubt in the minds of the English bowlers, giving Pakistan a significant advantage.

India's dominance on home soil has been challenged in recent times, as visiting teams have exploited the spin-friendly conditions to their advantage. In the ongoing Test series against New Zealand, the hosts found themselves on the receiving end of Mitchell Santner's spin wizardry.After dismissing New Zealand for 259, India's batting lineup crumbled to a mere 156 runs, conceding a substantial 103-run lead. The dismissals of key players Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja highlighted India's vulnerability against spin.This is not an isolated incident. In the past, India has fallen into its own trap by preparing turning tracks for opponents. Here are some notable examples:India vs Australia, 3rd Test, 2023, Indore:Australia secured a nine-wicket victory on a spinning track at Indore's Holkar Stadium. Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann exploited the conditions, bowling India out for just 109 in their first innings. Despite a fightback from India's spinners, Lyon's eight wickets in the second innings sealed the match for Australia.India vs England, 1st Test, 2024, Hyderabad:England clinched a 28-run victory at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Tom Hartley's spin proved too much for India, who collapsed for just 202 runs in their chase. Earlier, Ollie Pope's brilliant 196 had set India a challenging target.India vs England, 1st Test, 2021, Chennai:England secured a comprehensive 227-run victory in Chennai. Joe Root's double-century helped England post a formidable 578 in their first innings. India's batting struggled against Dom Bess and Jack Leach, who spun the hosts out for 337 and 192 runs, respectively.These instances demonstrate that India's reliance on spin-friendly tracks can backfire. Opponents have adapted to the conditions and exploited India's weaknesses against spin. The team needs to find a balance between preparing pitches that favor their spinners while also ensuring that their batters can cope with the turning ball.

Virat Kohli's ongoing struggles against spin bowling continued to haunt him in the second Test against New Zealand at the MCA Stadium in Pune. On Friday, the Indian batting maestro was dismissed for a mere 1 by New Zealand left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner.Kohli's dismissal came when he misjudged a low full toss, failing to connect as the ball slipped under his bat and crashed into the stumps. The dismissal left Kohli visibly frustrated and marked the 21st time since 2021 that he has fallen to spin in Asia.Kohli's struggles against spin have become a recurring theme, particularly in Asian conditions. Earlier in the series, during the first Test in Bengaluru, Kohli was dismissed in similar fashion by New Zealand spinner Glenn Phillips. India went on to lose that match by 8 wickets, trailing the three-match series 0-1.Kohli's troubles against spin, especially left-arm orthodox spinners like Santner, have become a glaring concern. Since 2021, out of his 21 dismissals to spinners, 10 have been at the hands of left-arm orthodox bowlers, against whom he averages a meager 27.10.In total, Kohli has managed just 606 runs against spinners during this period in Asian conditions, with an average of 28.85 - far below the high standards he set in his career.As India battled to recover from New Zealand's first-innings score of 259, Kohli's early exit put the team in a difficult position. By lunch on the second day, India had slumped to 107/7, with the visitors' spinners tightening their grip on the match. Kohli's dismissal, in particular, exacerbated India's struggles, as they sought to gain momentum in the series following their loss in the first Test.Kohli's struggles against spin have raised questions about his technique and adaptability to changing conditions. The Indian team management will be hoping that he can find a way to overcome this challenge and regain his dominance against spin bowling.

The ongoing Test matches between India and New Zealand in Pune and Pakistan and England in Rawalpindi have witnessed the dominance of spin bowling, with tweakers etching their names in the record books.In Pune, India's decision to field three frontline spinners—Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravichandran Ashwin—proved fruitful on a spin-friendly surface. Sundar, playing his first Test in over three years, silenced critics by taking seven wickets in a row, triggering New Zealand's collapse from 197/3 to 259 all out. His career-best Test figures and maiden fifer, along with Ashwin's three wickets, marked the sixth instance of spinners claiming all ten wickets on day one of a Test in India.Sundar's five bowled dismissals placed him among the elite group of Indian players to achieve this feat in a Test innings. His figures were the third-best by an Indian against New Zealand in Tests and the joint-best with Ashwin in the 21st century. Ashwin, meanwhile, surpassed Nathan Lyon as the leading wicket-taker in the ICC World Test Championship with 189 scalps and became Test's seventh-highest wicket-taker with 531 scalps.In Rawalpindi, the pitch also favored spinners. England, who had scored over 500 runs in a day at the same venue in 2022, faced a different scenario this time. Sajid Khan's six-wicket haul, the third-best spell by a spinner at the venue, led Pakistan's spin attack to dismiss England for 267. All the overs in the innings were bowled by spinners, marking the first such instance in 142 years of Test cricket.Pakistan's spinners continued their dominance, taking all ten wickets in the first innings of a Test for the sixth time, including four against England. At the end of the day, Pakistan had reduced England to 73/3, with spinners Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed claiming two wickets each.The ongoing matches highlight the resurgence of spin bowling in Test cricket. Whether spinners will continue to dominate and single-handedly win matches for their teams remains to be seen.

Pakistan's national bureau of statistics hosted its inaugural 'Data-Fest' conference this week, just a stone's throw away from England's hotel in Islamabad. Under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, this England set-up has shown minimal interest in numbers, but there is one figure that stands out ahead of their series decider in nearby Rawalpindi: 101.25, Harry Brook's batting average in Pakistan.Two years have passed since Brook announced himself as a Test cricketer with an outrageous maiden hundred in Rawalpindi. He was England's fourth centurion as they racked up 506 for 4 on the opening day of their series against Pakistan, eventually falling for 153 off 116 balls on the second morning after looting 27 off an over from Zahid Mahmood.He followed that innings with subsequent hundreds in England's victories in Multan and Karachi, an extension of a stunning run of form in Pakistan that had started with a century in the 2022 PSL and continued with a breakthrough T20I series. Not since Kevin Pietersen had an England batter made such a compelling start to their Test career.Brook started the series with 317 in Multan on his return this month, a mammoth innings that was England's highest in 34 years. But more than 500km away in Peshawar, Sajid Khan was watching closely on TV, and noticed Brook hanging back against spin. When he was called up for the second Test, Sajid hatched a plan to turn the ball sharply out of the rough."There was a small patch outside off stump," Sajid explained. "When he faced his first ball, I told Rizi bhai [Mohammad Rizwan] that if he plays like this again, I will get him out." Brook stayed back as Sajid predicted, looking to punch through cover, but was beaten on his inside edge by a ball that kept low and had his leg stump knocked back.Brook was out playing off the back foot again in England's second innings, too, this time to the left-armer Noman Ali. He sat deep in his crease to a fullish ball, looking to swing it over midwicket, but was deceived by the low bounce and trapped lbw. With scores of 9 and 16, this was Brook's least successful Test in Pakistan: his first without a hundred, and his first defeat.Brendon McCullum, England's coach, smirked after the second Test when he heard Sajid had been revealing his plans to Brook. "Did he? Well bowled," McCullum said. "He is such an exciting cricketer, and such a big player for us as well, and he's trying to put pressure on the opposition… Sometimes, when you're doing that, you make mistakes and you get out."One quiet Test immediately after a triple-hundred is not enough to prompt any long-term concerns, but Brook said on Tuesday that he has been discussing gameplans against Sajid and Noman ahead of this week's decider. "They're obviously both going to play a massive part in their team," he said. "Hopefully, it pays off and I play a big part in the game."Brook agreed with Sajid's assessment about his preference to play spin off the back foot. "I do like to," he said. "It gives you a lot more time to play the spinning ball. It gives you different areas to play in. I'm not saying I'm not going to do that: I'm going to look to play off the back foot, and I'm going to look to put him under pressure."It is hardly an issue that has plagued him across his Test career: to date, Brook averages more against spin (67.81) than seam (57.70). But the reason that his twin failures were notable was that, having missed England's tour to India on compassionate leave, this was the first time he had played on a pitch weighted firmly in the spinners' favour.England staged a six-hitting competition ahead of their final training session in Rawalpindi on Wednesday morning, with Brook finishing a close second to Rehan Ahmed. Stokes said the aim was to "get the good vibes going" after three weeks largely confined to two hotels and two stadiums, but it also served as a reminder of Brook's devastating power.It is easily forgotten that Brook has still only played 20 Tests, such was the speed with which he became an all-format regular for England. He has a stellar record, averaging a shade below 60, but remains a work in progress. "He's a baby in the greater scheme of things," Jason Gillespie, Pakistan's coach, said. "He'll work things out in all conditions: the good players tend to do that."This has been a long season for Brook: since the start of April, he has played more or less non-stop, with 35 matches across formats including eight Tests, five ODIs as a stand-in captain, and a T20 World Cup. Thursday's Rawalpindi Test will finally bring it to a close, even if he will only have a short break before England travel to New Zealand.As a three-format player, Brook is growing accustomed to the relentlessness of the international schedule and will soon become used to opponents targeting what they perceive to be potential weaknesses. If he can overcome both pitfalls and maintain his remarkable three-figure average in Pakistan, it will go a long way towards England clinching this series.

New Zealand's skipper Tom Latham has emphasized the team's adaptability and focus on utilizing their bowling options effectively in the upcoming second Test against India. Despite their historic eight-wicket victory in the opening Test in Bengaluru, Latham stressed the importance of not having preconceived notions about the pitch conditions."We're trying to adapt as quickly as we can," Latham stated. "If it's a wicket that turns a little bit more, we've got four spinners in our line-up, but it's also about trying not to go into the game with too many preconceived ideas."Latham acknowledged that he has considered how to best utilize the team's spinners, including Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel, Rachin Ravindra, and Glenn Phillips. He emphasized the need to gather information from previous matches and practice wickets to prepare for the conditions.Despite their impressive victory in Bengaluru, Latham emphasized that the team is not resting on its laurels. "We celebrated what was a special performance, but our attention has turned quickly to this game," he said. "We're trying to take the confidence from last week and take that into this game."Latham also addressed his lack of big scores, stating that his focus is on contributing to the team's success. "I've certainly been working hard behind the scenes to get my game where I want it to be," he said. "As a batsman, it's a really fine line."Latham praised Rachin Ravindra's approach in the first Test, highlighting his ability to balance attack and defense. "The way he played throughout that whole innings was outstanding," Latham said. "He put the foot down a little bit, played a little bit more attacking at certain stages, and then obviously sucked up a little bit of pressure at times as well."Regarding Kane Williamson's absence, Latham stated that he is working closely with the medical team. "It's a day-by-day thing with Kane," he said. "Hopefully, we'll find out a little bit more after the Test."

England's spin trio of Rehan Ahmed, Shoaib Bashir, and Jack Leach will take on Pakistan's spinners on a Rawalpindi pitch that has been prepared to favor the home team's slow bowlers. The move is a gamble, as it leaves England with only two fast-bowling options in Gus Atkinson and Ben Stokes.Ahmed, who made his Test debut in Pakistan two years ago, has been recalled to the side after a disappointing tour of India earlier this year. He will be expected to provide England with a third spin option alongside Bashir and Leach.Pakistan has gone to great lengths to dry out the pitch in Rawalpindi, using rakes, fans, and heaters. The move is an attempt to replicate the conditions in Multan, where Pakistan won the second Test by 152 runs on a recycled strip.England's decision to field three spinners is a risk, but it is one that they believe is necessary. The pitch in Rawalpindi has historically suited seam over spin, but it has also been among the world's best for batting since its return to staging Tests in 2019.England will need to bat well on the first few days of the Test if they are to avoid falling behind. The pitch is expected to turn earlier than usual, which could give Pakistan's spinners a chance to make early inroads.Harry Brook, who was dismissed for 9 and 16 by Pakistan's spinners in the second Test, believes that Sajid Khan and Noman Ali will play a "massive part" in Rawalpindi. "I've spoken to a few of the lads about gameplans and how we're going to go about it," he said. "Hopefully, it pays off and I play a big part in the game."England's team for the third Test is as follows:1. Zak Crawley2. Ben Duckett3. Ollie Pope4. Joe Root5. Harry Brook6. Ben Stokes (capt)7. Jamie Smith (wk)8. Gus Atkinson9. Rehan Ahmed10. Jack Leach11. Shoaib Bashir