As England trained in Multan’s searing heat for the first time on Friday, their fast-bowling coach was fighting the cold over 4,000 miles away in Scotland. James Anderson is spending this week playing the historic Old Course at St. Andrews in a pro-am golf tournament, and his late arrival highlights the extent to which a new batch of England seamers are stepping into the unknown.
When England last toured Pakistan, Anderson was instrumental in their 3-0 clean sweep. He played the first two Tests, taking eight wickets at 18.50 – including a ball to Mohammad Rizwan he described as “one of my best” – and doubled up as a fast-bowling coach to Mark Wood and, in particular, Ollie Robinson, who shared 17 wickets between them.
That is only exacerbated by Anderson’s absence in the build-up to the series. England say that he has been in daily contact with their quicks while playing in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, but he will not arrive in Pakistan until the second day of the first Test and WhatsApp is no substitute for in-person coaching.
With Ben Stokes emerging as a doubt for the first Test, Woakes is likely to play his first away Test in two-and-a-half years, and his first in Asia since 2016: a chance not only to lead the attack, but to rectify his notoriously thin record overseas. England’s other four fast bowlers have played a single overseas Test between them.
Atkinson was rested from September’s white-ball series against Australia after picking up a thigh niggle in the final Test of the summer, but bowled in training on Friday. Carse, Potts and Stone all featured in the ODIs but they will be learning on the job in Pakistan, even if Stone did play one home game for Multan Sultans in February.
Stone’s own personal circumstances could play a role in selection during the series. He is due to get married next Saturday, having planned his wedding three years after his most recent appearance: if he plays in the first Test, he faces a rush home after the fifth day’s play to reach the ceremony, and already appears highly unlikely to play in the second.
Multan is a place that demands quick adjustment, on and off the field. The temperature touched 40 degrees during England’s first training session on Friday, and while the team are staying in a luxury hotel overlooking a golf course, their presidential-level security means they will see little else of the city over the next two-and-a-half weeks.
The ground has not staged a Test since England’s 26-run win two years ago, and the early signs are that there will be some live grass on the pitch. “It has a bit of a green tinge,” Zak Crawley said. “There are two days to go, so with this heat, it could easily turn and be very similar to the pitches last time. We’ll wait and see, but at the moment, it’s certainly a little bit green.”
Crawley became the latest England player to reference comments that Shan Masood, Pakistan’s captain, made before their series against Bangladesh last month. Masood suggested his side were at their best “wherever there’s been help for the fast bowlers” but the preparation of a lively surface in Rawalpindi backfired, with back-to-back defeats.
“Looking at this wicket – and hearing what Shan said in the media – I feel like it could be a bit more green and a bit more seam movement this time [than two years ago],” Crawley said. “We’ve got a really versatile bowling attack, with a bit of pace and also some skill… and in this heat, I think the spinners are always going to play a part.
“[We’ve spoken] a little bit about reverse-swing… it should be easy with the sweat, but maybe not so much with that wicket. The square looks quite green. [Anderson] has not arrived yet but he’s an absolute master of that kind of thing. In these conditions, him and Robbo were a big reason we played well last time. He’ll be valuable when he comes out.”
England’s fast-bowling attack has evolved at lightning speed in the last year, with Anderson and Stuart Broad moving on and a new batch of quicks replacing them with a focus on seam movement, rather than swing. The transition has been designed to help England compete more away from home: this series is the first real test for the next generation.
