Pak bowling coach Umar Gul blames 'cold weather' for loss in first Test vs England

Pak bowling coach Umar Gul blames 'cold weather' for loss in first Test vs England

Pak bowling coach Umar Gul blames 'cold weather' for loss in first Test vs ENG Photograph: (AFP)

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Pakistan bowling coach Umar Gul blamed cold weather for their innings defeat to England in the first Test at Headingley. Skipper Babar Azam returns for the second Test at Lord's starting August 27.

Pakistan bowling coach Umar Gul has blamed the cold English weather for his team's loss in the first Test against England. Pakistan lost the Test played at Headingley in Leeds by an innings and 103 runs inside three days. Batting first, Pakistan had scored 171 and England posted 409 in reply. In the second innings, Pakistan could manage only 135 runs as England pacers snapped up all 20 wickets of the match in quick time to take a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series.

Pakistan coach blames cold weather for loss in 1st Test against England

Speaking ahead of the second Test, which starts August 27 at Lord's, Gul highlighted the temperature difference between the West Indies, where Pakistan played before coming to England, and Headingley.

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"When we came here from the WI, the weather was hot. It was a hot summer. We weren't expecting it to be this cold. Even during the practice match at Croydon, the weather there was hot. When we reached Headingley, it was totally different. It rained and the weather was cold. Obviously, you need to spend some time in that cold weather. That's why we couldn't bowl that well, and we couldn't execute due to the weather. But I hope they acclimatise to the weather and do well in the next game," he said.

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Pakistan also played the first Test without ace batter and skipper Babar Azam, who was out with an injury. The skipper, in some good news for Pakistan, will be back for the second Test. England, meanwhile, are dealing with booze issues, with the latest incident involving pacer Brydon Carse, who has now been dropped from the squad for the second Test as the matter gets investigated. After the second Test at Lord's from Aug 27–31, the third Test will be played in Birmingham from September 9–13.

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Prashant Talreja is an Assistant Editor at WION, specializing in sports: cricket, tennis, golf, football, etc. With over 10 years of experience in sports journalism, Talreja has pr...Read More