Inzamam demands seaming pitches for training ahead of England tour

Proposed measure will allow squad members to adapt to English conditions


Sports Desk May 20, 2016
Inzamam has demanded seaming pitches for preparation before the national side begins tour of England. PHOTO: AFP

Pakistan chief selector Inzamamul Haq has demanded seaming pitches for preparation before the national side begins tour of England in July this year, Press Trust of India reported on Friday.

Due to England’s impressive Test record at home, Inzamam has told Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) chief curator that players who attend the camp from May 29 onwards in Lahore should be given fresh seaming pitches for practice.

“Inzamam has gone through England’s record in Tests at home and is well aware that they thrashed India 3-1 in 2014, despite the visitors having a world class batting line-up,” a PCB source said on the condition of anonymity.

Earlier, Inzamam also convinced the board to send the team two weeks earlier to England to set up an acclimatization camp in Hampshire before the tour officially begins in July.

PCB confirms two-week training camp in England

Around 31 probables are currently attending a boot camp in Abbottabad to assess and raise fitness levels of players.

However, from May 29 onwards the action will shift to Lahore where players will be joined by the new head coach, Mickey Arthur. The week-long camp based in Lahore will focus on players’ cricket skills for England’s tour.

The chief selector has proposed these measures to allow squad members to adapt to English conditions, as this will be the first time since 2013 that Pakistan will play a Test series outside Asia and the Middle East.

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“Inzamam realises that Pakistan’s biggest problem is that since the tour of South Africa in 2013, the Test side was confined to playing in UAE where pitches did not test the batsmen,” the source said.

“Therefore, he knows that how Pakistani players adapt to English conditions will decide the series,” he added.

Even though Pakistan are among the top three Test sides in ICC rankings, critics have questioned their batting performance which is mainly restricted to friendly conditions in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

COMMENTS (3)

JM | 7 years ago | Reply Our cricket team faces a slim chance to bat well Iin English conditions. We will need to bat out of our skins there. Inzi has taken a good step. To begin with, we should've made seaming wickets in Dubai. Batting on placid wickets is hardly a challenge.
Syed | 7 years ago | Reply Good decision
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