Former England captain Joe Root was once again seen rubbing the red ball on Jack Leach’s bald head to shine it. A video of this moment was shared by Sky Sports during Day 1 of the second Test against Pakistan at Multan Cricket Stadium on October 15.
With the International Cricket Council (ICC) permanently banning saliva on the ball, teams have turned to using sweat instead. Root had employed this same tactic during England’s previous tour of Pakistan to shine the ball.
You can watch the video here:
https://x.com/skycricket/status/1846098149133140129?s=46
Pakistan won the toss on Day 1 and chose to bat first. The hosts included three frontline spinners in their lineup, and Kamran Ghulam made his Test debut. England made two changes, with Ben Stokes replacing Chris Woakes and Matthew Potts coming in for Gus Atkinson.
Jack Leach made early breakthroughs, but Kamran Ghulam and Saim Ayub settled in
Leach, brought in early by Stokes, dismissed Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood in consecutive overs. However, Kamran Ghulam and Saim Ayub stabilized the innings, forming a 60-run partnership before lunch.
Although Leach did not play any Tests during the home summer, he was selected after strong performances in the County Championship.
He had a significant impact in the opening Test, taking seven wickets and contributing to Pakistan’s historic innings defeat. This loss by an innings and 47 runs marked the first time a team lost despite scoring over 500 runs in their first innings.
In light of this heavy defeat, the selectors made changes, dropping Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Naseem Shah for the remaining two Tests. They brought in Ghulam, Haseebullah Khan, Mehran Mumtaz, Sajid Khan, Noman Ali, Zahid Mahmood, and Mohammad Ali to the squad.
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