Published: Aug 13, 2020, 11:02 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 14, 2020, 03:33 PM (IST)
Hello and welcome to CricketCountry’s live coverage of Day 1 of the second Test between England and Pakistan at The Rose Bowl, Southampton.
PREVIEW
Pakistan will look to take advantage of Ben Stokes’ absence to level the series against England, in the second Test at The Rose Bowl, Southampton.
Pakistan were the better team for the majority of the first Test at Old Trafford, Manchester before England made a dramatic turnaround on Day 5 to go 1-0 up.
One bad day cost the visitors the game and they’ll be wary of the mistakes they made in Manchester.
“There are very small margins between victory and defeat and it’s easy to curse yourself when you’ve lost,” said Pakistan’s head coach Misbah-ul-Haq.
“We should remember that we were right on top until pretty much the last session of the game and we played very good cricket. Sure, we need to improve 10 to 15 per cent and deal with pressure situations a little better but we shouldn’t be mentally down.
“There is disappointment, of course, but we must not keep that feeling in our minds otherwise it will be difficult to come back but the team believes we can fight back,” he added.
England will be without Stokes, who will miss the remaining two Tests due to personal reasons, and will have to rejig their team accordingly. Zak Crawley, who played against West Indies, could come back into the starting XI.
“We now have to complete the job without Ben Stokes. He is someone we would miss even if he was unable to bowl or hit a ball. He has such an impact in the changing room beyond what he does in the middle,” England pacer Jofra Archer wrote in his column for Daily Mail.
“If you are going into battle, Stokes is the person you want right next to you. He would never run away from a challenge, but family is so important and he has to be in New Zealand right now.”
Pakistan, meanwhile, are likely to remain unchanged.
This will be the first time England and Pakistan will be facing each other in Southampton.
(With IANS Inputs)
