Pakistan's red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie expressed his disappointment over the team's defeat in the first Test against England. He emphasised that it was only their third Test of the series and that they were still in the early stages of their campaign.
Pakistan's Multan Test fiasco
Pakistan's recent form in Test cricket has been poor, with this defeat being their third consecutive loss in the format. The innings and 47 runs defeat in the first Test against England was particularly humiliating, as it came after Pakistan had scored a massive 556 runs in their first innings. This was the first time in Test cricket history that a team had lost by an innings after scoring over 500 runs in their first innings.
Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first, and their decision was vindicated by a strong batting performance. Captain Shan Masood and Abdullah Shafique both scored centuries, while Saud Shakeel and Salman Ali Agha also made significant contributions. Pakistan's total of 556 runs was a solid foundation for the match. However, England's batting performance was even more impressive. Harry Brook and Joe Root both scored double centuries, taking their team to a total of 823 runs. This gave England a lead of over 200 runs in the first innings.
Pakistan's batting collapsed in their second innings, with no batter able to make a significant impact. They were bowled out for 220 runs, suffering an innings and 47-run defeat.
Jason Gillespie comes to embattled Pakistan Team's rescue
Pakistan coach Jason Gillespie defended the team's performance, stating that despite calls for changes, they already have a strong group of players. He also admitted that the team lacks skill but needs to work on adjusting and adapting to different game situations.
“Please understand that this management, myself included, this is our 3rd Test. It’s very early for us in this space. We’ve looked at past performances and we’re looking at performances right now. Sometimes players are better players when they aren’t in the team," Gillespie said after Pakistan's big defeat in Multan Test.
"Everyone is crying out for change, change. I understand that people want to see results and performances. But we’ve got some very fine players in the dressing room. Skill levels aren’t the issue. We just need to make sure we’re in the game and adjusting and adapting in the game and finding solutions there, rather than reflecting at the end of the day’s play or match that we should have done this and that. In-game solutions is something we talk about a lot.” said Jason Gillespie.
Jason Gillespie also addressed the criticism surrounding the pitch at the Multan Cricket Stadium. He argued that the focus on the pitch was a distraction from the team's failure to execute their plans and skills effectively.
“I wasn’t upset with the surface here. It’s pretty much what we expected and what we thought was going to be the best opportunity to play well in the game. If you look at our first innings, we put up a score of 550 and that part was fine," he added.
"No one was saying anything about the surface then. It was only when we didn’t get our plans right and execute our skills with the ball that everyone started to talk about the surface," Jason Gillespie concluded.
