Pakistan: Aamir Sohail talks up return of Test cricket to country
'Pitch in Abu Dhabi has been a bad advertisement for the game'
Monday 19 October 2015 10:17, UK
How soon can we expect to see international cricket return to Pakistan?
Former Pakistan batsman Aamir Sohail is hopeful of a return within two years, arguing that poor pitches like the one Pakistan played England on in the drawn first Test in Abu Dhabi could help speed the process along.
"I don't see it happening for at least 18 months," said Sohail. "But moves are afoot already and you could argue that cricket in the Emirates has become boring, so why not take cricket back to Pakistan?
"We will ensure that we produce result-orientated pitches, and Zimbabwe recently toured for two T20Is and three ODIs, and it was a huge success.
"If the Pakistan Cricket Board are intelligent, they will try to introduce some Test match cricket first, before staging regular one-dayers.
"Pakistani fans are starved of international cricket and two or three series of just Test cricket will create a culture of people turning up for Tests in greater numbers than they were previously.
"This pitch in Abu Dhabi has been a bad advertisement for the game and if the ICC want Test cricket to be popular, then they have to start thinking seriously about moving it back to Pakistan.
"There seems to be no ownership of the wicket. Pakistan coach Waqar Younis came out and said they never wanted such a surface prepared. They're here to win.
"In Pakistan there are two or three grounds in particular where they could easily produce livelier pitches, places like Rawalpindi or Multan."
Pakistan hasn't regularly hosted international cricket for six years, following a terrorist attack on the touring Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009.
Younus Khan was captain of Pakistan at the time and while he has had success in the UAE since - averaging 57.83 and scoring eight hundreds in his 19 Tests - Sohail says his success has been somewhat soured by the absence of his home fans.
Younus passed Javed Miandad as Pakistan's all-time leading Test run-scorer in the first test against England but in front of largely empty stands in the Emirates.
"I recently spoke with Younus, and he was actually quite sad," said Sohail. "So many of the great performances he has given for Pakistan have come in the Emirates, and he would have loved to have performed more in front of his home crowds.
"Imagine how huge it would have been if and when he had broken Miandad's record in front of a Pakistani crowd. It could have been an even bigger story for him."
Despite that record-breaking moment, Younus' Test was generally a poor one, playing two loose shots to be dismissed when well-set on 38 and 45.
Sohail is concerned by Pakistan's batting as a whole, after they were dismissed for 173 on the final day of the Test, and thinks they have missed a trick against an under-prepared England.
Live Test Cricket
"Our batsmen are struggling," added Sohail.
"This England team arrived cold in Abu Dhabi, having not had much time to prepare for this series, but they did well to absorb the pressure that was created by Pakistan in the first couple of days, and then will have gained a lot of confidence from their efforts with the ball.
"It is very important for Misbah-ul-Haq to be proactive and get more engaged with the players. They have to look at England's bowlers very closely, practice hard and then hopefully show more toughness in the next Test."
Live coverage of the second Test between Pakistan and England starts at 6.30am, Thursday, Sky Sports 2. You can also watch without a contract on NOW TV.
