'Can't win a Test...,' Pak skipper Shan Masood blames bowlers for crushing innings loss vs England
England tour of Pakistan: Shan Masood to lead hosts despite poor run; Aamer Jamal returns after injury
Pakistan Test skipper Shan Masood blamed the bowlers for their innings loss against England in first Test in Multan inside four days. The loss came despite Pakistan scoring 550+ runs in the first innings but allowing England to score 800+ in reply.
"What England showed us is you can find a way. They took 20 wickets on this pitch, so you can't say it's impossible to take 20 wickets on this pitch," Masood said after the post-match presentation.
"We can't find the easy way out to those 20 wickets, because then we wouldn't have scored a huge first-innings score. You have to find a way as a team, and the formula of Test cricket is you can't win a Test without taking 20 wickets. That, and first-innings runs," he added.
During the match, many broadcasters and former cricketers criticised the pitch for being benign. Masood, however, reasoned that it was the same for both the teams with same bowling combination but only England found a way to take wickets.
"It was the same pitch for both sides, and both sides were similar - three pacers and two spinners," he said. "They found a way, and we didn't execute as well. Conditions change over the course of a Test, and we have to learn to find a way.
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"We take the discussion of the pitch too seriously. You plan a pitch for your squad and your strategy, but you can't control every aspect of the pitch."
In the Test, England declared after scoring more than 800 runs in their first innings after Pakistan were folded for 556. The visitors then went on to win the game by an innings and 47 runs as the home side failed to cope up with the pressure.
The second Test of the series is scheduled to start fromOctober 15, also in Multan.