RAWALPINDI: England captain Ben Stokes believes the series-deciding third Test against Pakistan starting Thursday will boil down to a spin battle on a Rawalpindi pitch likely to favor slow bowlers.
England piled up 823-7 to thrash Pakistan by an innings on a lifeless Multan pitch in the first Test, before the hosts bounced back with a 152-run win on a recycled and turning Multan track.
For the deciding match, Pakistan have kept the same combination of three frontline spinners in Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Zahid Mahmood, with just one fast bowler in Aamer Jamal.
Pakistan have used industrial fans and heaters to dry the Rawalpindi pitch, hoping to replicate their spin-led success in Multan which ended a drought of home wins stretching back to 2021.
Stokes said his three spinners in Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir and the recalled Rehan Ahmed were equal to the challenge.
“I’ll be backing the three spinners that we’ve picked,” Stokes told reporters after a training session on the eve of the third and final Test.
“We don’t know exactly how the wicket will play, but we’ve taken as much information from it as we can.
“We think the longer the game goes, the more spin will come into play.”
Pakistan head coach Jason Gillespie, the former Australia fast bowler, also expects the near-bald pitch “to favor the slower bowlers.”
The toss could be crucial, with both teams looking to bat first and maximize the impact of their spinners on a deteriorating pitch.
Pakistan have performed poorly in all formats in the past year, losing 2-0 in a home Test series to Bangladesh and crashing out of the ODI and Twenty20 World Cups in the first rounds.
A series victory over England would mark a stark change in fortunes.
“Over the last few years Pakistan’s Test cricket hasn’t been where we’d like it to be, so any win is a positive,” he said.
Ben Stokes forecasts spin battle in Pakistan-England decider
https://arab.news/47mke
Ben Stokes forecasts spin battle in Pakistan-England decider
- England captain says the longer the game goes, the more spin will come into play
- Pakistan won the second Test in Multan by 152 runs by relying on spin bowlers
UN torture expert decries Pakistan ex-PM Khan’s detention
- Khan’s party alleges government is holding him in solitary confinement, barring prison visits
- Pakistan’s government rejects allegations former premier is being denied basic rights in prison
GENEVA: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan is being held in conditions that could amount to torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on torture warned Friday.
Alice Jill Edwards urged Pakistan to take immediate and effective action to address reports of the 73-year-old’s inhumane and undignified detention conditions.
“I call on Pakistani authorities to ensure that Khan’s conditions of detention fully comply with international norms and standards,” Edwards said in a statement.
“Since his transfer to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on September 26, 2023, Imran Khan has reportedly been held for excessive periods in solitary confinement, confined for 23 hours a day in his cell, and with highly restricted access to the outside world,” she said.
“His cell is reportedly under constant camera surveillance.”
Khan an all-rounder who captained Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup, upended Pakistani politics by becoming the prime minister in 2018.
Edwards said prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement is prohibited under international human rights law and constitutes a form of psychological torture when it lasts longer than 15 days.
“Khan’s solitary confinement should be lifted without delay. Not only is it an unlawful measure, extended isolation can bring about very harmful consequences for his physical and mental health,” she said.
UN special rapporteurs are independent experts mandated by the Human Rights Council. They do not, therefore, speak for the United Nations itself.
Initially a strong backer of the country’s powerful military leadership, Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in 2022, and has since been jailed on a slew of corruption charges that he denies.
He has accused the military of orchestrating his downfall and pursuing his Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and its allies.
Khan’s supporters say he is being denied prison visits from lawyers and family after a fiery social media post this month accusing army leader Field Marshal Asim Munir of persecuting him.
According to information Edwards has received, visits from Khan’s lawyers and relatives are frequently interrupted or ended prematurely, while he is held in a small cell lacking natural light and adequate ventilation.
“Anyone deprived of liberty must be treated with humanity and dignity,” the UN expert said.
“Detention conditions must reflect the individual’s age and health situation, including appropriate sleeping arrangements, climatic protection, adequate space, lighting, heating, and ventilation.”
Edwards has raised Khan’s situation with the Pakistani government.
