We took too long to pick right tracks for England series: Saud

RAWALPINDI: Vice-captain Saud Shakil conceded on Tuesday that Pakistan took too long to decide what kind of wickets are most suited to their strengths.

In a media talk on Tuesday, Saud said personally he believed that Pakistan took too long to decide what kind of wickets are most suited for the England series. “I feel that we should have decided well in hand as to what kind of wickets are most suited for the England series. It is something that should have been in our mind well ahead of the start of such a series.

“The wickets should be prepared more on series to series bases rather than on seasonal bases. I don’t think we should prepare for an away tour ahead by playing in home conditions on the same pattern. Say if England is here, we must play to our strength and prepare wickets that suit our bowlers. We can make adjustments for away series while playing in our domestic cricket.

We should plan more on series to series basis rather than making a collective strategy for the whole season. I must say here that we have made a late decision to pick the most suited pitches for our bowlers for the series against England.”

Using heaters and fans to dry up the pitch, he said, was a result of weather conditions in Rawalpindi. “Multan is a hot place if we compare it with the Pindi. Here we need some artificial measures to dry up the pitches so that these could help spinners. Curators know the best way to prepare spin friendly wickets. Usually when it comes to Pindi Stadium tracks, they offer some assistance to pace bowlers. But to make it more suitable for spinners, curators require some extra effort.”

The lower middle-order batsman hoped to repeat second Test performance at the Pindi Stadium. “Definitely, we want to repeat the performance we have shown in the second Test. Our morale is sky high and so is our confidence. If England struggle on the spinning tracks why not play on the same tracks where our spin bowlers get assistance.”

He praised both Nauman Ali and Sajid Khan for playing their cards well in the last Test. “They both are quality spinners with a lot of experience and exposure behind them. They helped us win the second Test and are capable of repeating that performance yet again. They know wickets well and are well aware of the fact as to how to tackle the batsmen when the surface offers some kind of assistance to spinners.”

Saud hoped to see some spin from the wicket. “There should be some spin in the wicket as it looks the same way. Let us see how it behaves. We definitely need a wicket almost the same as it was there in Multan.”

Saud looked worried about his inconsistent batting. “Yes, that is in my mind. I don’t think shifting from one format to another has something to do with it. Since we are professional cricketers we must and should be consistent no matter which format we are playing.”