Pakistan's Batting Struggles in England: A Brutal Challenge
At Edgbaston, Pakistan’s tour of England has narrowed to a simple, brutal equation: survive, or go home beaten and bruised.
They trail England by 268 runs, marooned on 52 for 2, still not having reached 200 once in five completed innings on this tour. The numbers are stark. The mood, according to batting coach Michael Smith, is not.
“The mood is good,” he insisted after the second day’s play in Birmingham, standing in the middle of a storm that has been as much about off-field chaos as on-field collapse.
Runs scarce, questions plenty
This has been a tour stuck in reverse. Pakistan’s batting has repeatedly folded, their techniques and temperament exposed by a relentless home attack operating in familiar, unforgiving conditions. They have looked short of both runs and resistance.
Off the field, the noise has been deafening. The PCB has recalled seven players and head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed after the Lord’s defeat, and launched an inquiry into the conduct of some squad members. Turmoil has followed them down the country.
Smith wanted no part of that conversation.
“I know nothing about that [the inquiry] so I can't really comment on anything like that,” he said. “It's the first time I've heard of those things so I'm not too sure.”
He chose instead to plant his flag firmly in the future.
“For me there's a lot of quality in Pakistan,” he said. “We've seen it for many years and lots of countries go through slight changes. This is one where we've got some younger players with some experienced players, but it's the learning and how quickly we can get them to learn and get comfortable in the Test environment to really help them from a long-term point of view.”
A batting order in transition
The inexperience is real. Of the top seven in this Test, only Babar Azam and Shan Masood have previously toured England. The rest are feeling their way through conditions that have exposed even seasoned players over the years.
Smith called it what it is: a transition.
“We've shown some real good signs but just not for long enough,” he admitted. “I think that's probably the biggest lesson – we need some of our guys to be playing for hours at times and in certain game plans.”
There have been glimpses. Saud Shakeel has had moments. So has Azan Awais. Shan Masood has, too. But they’ve been cameos, not epics.
“We need that for hours and not just for half a session or so,” Smith said. “Some of the players, it's their first tour of England and they haven't got a lot of Test experience so they are learning some challenging lessons along the way and they have to learn on the Test circuit which is a challenging one.
“We’ve got to keep making sure that we're showing small really good signs at times but we need to now put a big play in to really get that confidence going again.”
That “big play” has eluded Pakistan all series. Partnerships have spluttered. Starts have died quickly. England’s attack has sensed weakness and driven through it.
Embracing the struggle
For all that, Smith pushed back against any notion of a broken dressing room.
“It’s been tough, it’s been challenging but let’s not take away [the fact that] we've come up against a really good bowling unit in home conditions who've been excellent,” he said.
He does not believe this is the moment to write off a generation.
“I suppose we might not see the sort of success we want to see now,” he added, “but hopefully if a lot of these players are back on our next UK tour we'll really see an upward trend and I think that's the time to really judge them – especially some of the younger players who get their first taste of the English type of conditions.
“It's tough cricket but the one thing our boys are really doing is embracing being on tour and actually enjoying themselves on tour as well as a group, as a whole.”
Enjoyment and a scorecard that reads under 200 almost every time. It’s a jarring contrast, but Smith is adamant that the internal belief has not disintegrated with the batting.
A “bloody exciting” challenge
Smith himself is new to this job, parachuted in as batting coach just before the series. He has walked straight into a crisis and called it an opportunity.
“I think I've got a bloody exciting challenge on my hands because there are some serious players,” he said. “Let’s not worry about what's happening here, we've got some really exciting players and [their] potential is exceptionally high.
“It's just how quickly can we get them to that level, especially playing outside of Pakistan. That's going to be a big challenge and something we're really excited about.”
He knows structural questions will follow – about preparation, domestic systems, and how Pakistan equip batters for conditions like these. For now, his focus is more immediate, more brutal.
The next session decides everything
Pakistan’s “immediate challenge”, as Smith put it, is simple: drag this match into a fourth innings. To do that, they must do something they have failed to do all tour – go well beyond 200.
They are 52 for 2, still 268 short of making England bat again. One more collapse, and the inquest will get louder. One substantial stand, and at least there will be something to cling to amid the wreckage.
Smith talks of potential, of learning, of an upward trend on some future UK tour. Before any of that, his batters have to survive tomorrow morning at Edgbaston.
