"When you're playing at home, you should have home advantage" - Brendon McCullum happy with Multan pitch for 2nd ENG vs PAK Test 2024
England head coach Brendon McCullum had no complaints about the Multan pitch used for the second Test against Pakistan. Under unusual circumstances, the second Test was played in the same venue and track as the one used for the series opener.
Pakistan capitalized on the same by picking a lone pacer and three specialist spinners to complete a 152-run win and level the three-match series 1-1. The spin duo of Noman Ali and Sajid Khan combined to pick up all 20 wickets as England struggled to cope with the host spinners.
Speaking to Sky Sports post-match, McCullum brushed aside any qualms over Pakistan preferring a used wicket and said as quoted by India Today:
"I don't mind [the pitch], actually. I quite like the quirk of it. When you're playing at home, you should have home advantage. I guess after the first Test match, we were able to go 1-0 up something had to give, and they took a punt on it. I don't have a problem with it at all."
He added:
"Credit to Pakistan, they were able to get enough runs on the board and the way their spinners operated was simply outstanding. They put us under a lot of pressure and we weren't quite able to respond. But there's some stuff to be proud of and we look forward to the next Test."
The victory was Pakistan's first at home since early 2021 and broke an overall six-Test losing streak.
"290 on a ninth day surface against spinners that know how to bowl in these conditions was always going to be a difficult proposition" - Brendon McCullum
Brendon McCullum defended his batters' sub-par performance of 144 all-out in the final innings, calling it an improbable task on a 'ninth-day pitch.
After scoring a remarkable 823/7 in their lone batting essay in the first innings, England combined for only 435 in the second Test. None of the English batters even scored 40 in the second innings as they faltered to combat the Pakistan spin duo of Noman Ali and Sajid Khan.
"290 on a ninth day surface against spinners that know how to bowl in these conditions was always going to be a difficult proposition. The method of sweeping and reverse sweeping and trying to put some pressure on the opposition was really the only way. We weren't able to get there and we lost a few wickets with that method, but we saw in this Test that if you tried to sit in then it was nigh-on impossible," said McCullum.
With the series level at 1-1, the action will shift to Rawalpindi for the decider, starting on October 24.