And so to Dubai. To the Dubai Sports City, this curious constellation of sport, retail and leisure, an ambitious project conceived through easy credit, stymied initially by the global financial crisis and still far from a completed vision, despite being more than ten years old.
Unfinished and uncertain is how this series stands. England’s players have been in relaxation mode since their arrival here, taking advantage of the themed waterparks, golf and other delights that this desert’s theatre of the absurd has to offer, but turning their attentions back yesterday to the mundane routines of nets and practice.
They are buoyed, though, of that there is little doubt. They sensed an element of panic from Pakistan on the final day in Abu Dhabi and realised, watching their opponents’ second innings, that there are weaknesses in the batting line-up to be exploited: an opener who made few runs on a road; three heavy scorers who gave opportunities early in their innings that England spurned; and two old-stagers in the middle order, Misbah-ul-Haq and Younus Khan, in the twilight of their careers. If they could nearly take 20 wickets on that pitch, where can they not?
To that end, there is unlikely to be too much tinkering. Mark Wood’s position will be the one to be discussed. How robust is his ankle? He has had a number of injections into it during the past year and instability remains an issue. How capable is he of playing back-to-back games, which he had not done until this summer, and then, when he did, with a noticeable drop in speed and effectiveness?
If a replacement is considered, the state of the pitch would dictate. A pitch with grass would encourage England to maintain the balance of attack from the first Test, with Liam Plunkett the obvious alternative. If it looks as though it will be a dustbowl, Samit Patel could come into the equation to stiffen the batting and offer a third spin-bowling option. England could simply bolster their batting by playing a specialist batsman — James Taylor — although this option is less logical.
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Any misconceptions Pakistan had that they were in for another easy ride were obliterated by Alastair Cook’s inspiring example. Much like his second-innings hundred in Ahmedabad, which kick-started England to a famous win in India three years ago, the rest of the batsmen will feed off the way Cook conceptualised his innings, then had the stamina and patience and willpower to build it, brick by obdurate brick.
There could have been no better example for Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes, even if the nature of their temperaments dictates that they will be unable to emulate their captain.
The biggest bonus was undoubtedly Adil Rashid’s five-wicket haul, which means that England can look forward to next winter’s travels through Asia with more confidence. With enough bowlers around him — and Joe Root’s off spin should be more utilised — it should be easy enough for Cook to protect his leg spinner during periods of the game when conditions are not in his favour.
How much they will be here is, as yet, speculative. Pakistan’s record at the Dubai Cricket Stadium is not quite as strong as in Abu Dhabi, although both their spinners had noticeable success last year. After winning three of the first four Tests played here, South Africa and Sri Lanka came away with victories in 2013 and 2014, before Pakistan returned to form with a thumping win over Australia exactly a year ago.
After the defeat by Sri Lanka, Misbah complained about the lack of support his team were getting from the groundstaff, something that was rectified for the visit of Australia, when he and the general manager of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) declared themselves satisfied that home advantage, once again, was made use of. After his post-match comments this week, which similarly complained about the lack of assistance for the spinners, it can be assumed that pressure has been brought to bear again.
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But whereas the PCB oversees the final preparations of pitches at Pakistan’s home-from-home venues in the UAE, the groundsman here is an independently minded Australian called Tony Hemming, and how far he is swayed by the expectations of the home team will hold the key to the conditions and, possibly, the match.
As Dave Richardson, the chief executive of the ECB, told The Times on Monday, unless grass is left on the surface, it is likely to be as slow, if not slower, than Abu Dhabi. If Hemming is swayed by the good of the game, rather than the home team, the seam bowlers could enjoy themselves, which would play into England’s hands.
If not, more of the same is expected, with the proviso that Yasir Shah, the fit-again leg spinner, will offer Misbah more options than he had at his disposal in the first Test.
Rashid showed what Pakistan missed. No matter how slow the pitch, put runs on the board and men around the bat and a leg spinner is usually good value to create problems.
Add to that England’s historic weakness against the type, and the promise showed by Yasir in his ten Test matches to date, and you have a recipe for trouble.
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Yasir has been joined in the squad by Bilal Asif, the 30-year-old off spinner, who has yet to play a Test match but was reported for a suspect action during a one-day international this month. He was tested in Chennai last week, but remains available until the results of his testing become known.
The ICC is keen to diminish the length of the gap between testing and publishing results, which means that a player who could subsequently be banned from bowling remains eligible to play. Quite how Pakistan will incorporate him as well as Yasir remains to be seen — and will be dependent on how far the blades on the groundsman’s mower have been lowered by the time the match begins.