Chris Woakes throws challenge Pakistan’s way after England conquer Multan

England condemned Pakistan to arguably their worst Test defeat of all time as they took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series by winning the first match in Multan by an innings and 47 runs. The pitch was as flat as they come and Pakistan themselves managed to score 556 in their first innings. However, England then declared a scarcely believable 823/7 after which Pakistan were all out still trailing by 47 runs.
Overall, the match was not too kind to the bowlers of both sides, and England’s Chris Woakes has stated that it wouldn’t be a surprise if the pitches for the next two Tests were feistier than this. The second Test will also be played in Multan from October 15, after which the third will be played in Rawalpindi from October 24.
“There was talk about green surfaces,” Woakes told reporters after the match. “I suppose it did have a tinge of green on day one, but it just got better and better.”
Woakes said that it is quite normal for a home side to make batting more difficult in a match after they lost the previous one. “The ball is firmly in their court. When it’s a home series and it’s only three matches, and you lose the first, you’d like to think that the next two are going to be result wickets, whether that be green or turners. We’ll see,” he said.
This was the first time in two years that Woakes was playing in a Test match away from home and it was a succesful return for him. He finishes with figures of 1/69 in the first innings and 1/41 in the second. He had dismissed the struggling Babar Azam in the first innings and his second-innings scalp was Abdullah Shafique, the first-innings centurion.
Woakes said that he knew his average wouldn’t be great in these conditions but he is happy with the wickets he took. “I probably didn’t think I was going to get another opportunity to do this,” Woakes said. “In a way, I’d probably given up on it. But when you get the backing of the dressing room, of Ben and Baz [McCullum], you feel 10 feet tall and like you can go out there and win games of cricket for England. I’m never going to average 25 in these conditions but I don’t think many would.
“Thankfully in this Test match, I’ve been able to make a couple of breakthroughs with the new ball on a wicket which was offering pretty much bugger all, so I’m pretty pleased I contributed. There are going to be periods in these conditions where you do have to hold and you’re working for the guys at the other end,” said Woakes.