It is a quirk of the schedule that after 17 Tests in Asia over the last four years, England are not due to return in the next two. Their white-ball sides will be back regularly, including for next year’s Champions Trophy and the T20 World Cup in 2026, but their next Test tour is not until February 2027, in the form of a two-match series in Bangladesh.
“It looks like it will be a pretty decent wicket for the first couple of days,” Stokes said. “There’s not too much grass on it to hold it together, so the reasoning behind three spinners was, as the game progresses, that will probably come into the game… It was just weighing up who we think will be effective as the game goes on.
“It’s pretty obvious there’s been a few rakes put across it… I’ve never been a groundsman, but you’d think a rake would assist the spin. You look down it, and we can have a good guess which ends the Pakistan spinners will operate from.” When asked if only one end had been raked, Stokes clarified: “No, both have – but there are certain areas.”
While the grass was cut short on the strips either side of the playing surface in the second Test in Multan, there are only three pitches cut across the square in Rawalpindi this week. “With the outfield being like it was, lush and green, and not too much [on the] square to work with, we’ll probably struggle to get reverse-swing,” Stokes conceded.
Brendon McCullum believed that the toss skewed the second Test “65-35” in Pakistan’s favour, and it will be significant again this week. “The toss, out in the subcontinent, plays a bigger role than anywhere in the world,” Stokes said. “[But] I don’t think we’re going to have as extreme conditions as the game goes on: it will be a day-one wicket when we start, not day six.”
Historically, England tend to under-adjust to overseas conditions and find themselves wondering why their medium-pacers are ineffective on pitches without a blade of live grass on them. This year, they have been much more open-minded – as evidenced by Rehan’s inclusion as a wildcard third spin option, who they hope will create chances even if the pitch is flat.
“Adding Rehan’s free spirit and desperation to change the game every time he’s got the ball in his hand is a massive bonus for us this week,” Stokes said, while discarding the relevance of his quiet season for Leicestershire. “Legspinners have an amazing ability to break a game open… You’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.”
His farcical dismissal in Multan disguised the fact he top-scored in England’s second innings, and was the only batter to find a successful method by relying almost exclusively on his sweeps and reverses. For all his inspirational leadership, Stokes has not scored a Test century for 16 months: with the series on the line, he will be desperate to end that run.
The success of the McCullum-Stokes regime will ultimately be dictated by their results next year against India and Australia, but this week will go a long way towards determining their team’s reputation in Asia. When asked how important winning would be, Stokes gave a one-word answer: “Very.” For all that England want to entertain, they have a singular focus this week.
Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98