It will be absolutely fair to assert that till now, England have played very well in the UAE. Alastair Cook’s side was perceived as fragile against spin, and the English batsmen were not expected to last for too long against the Pakistani bowlers. However, England defied the general perceptions and performed excellently in the first test after Pakistan posted a mammoth total. In the second test as well, the game could have been drawn, but just one bad hour spoilt England’s chances.
Ben Stokes, who himself has had a forgettable outing in the UAE recently said that the visitors were confident for the third test. Stokes said that the English had worked really hard and he hoped that it paid off. “I’ve been working on what I know I’ll be facing when I come out here,” said Stokes on Friday. “It will either be the reverse swing of Wahab Riaz or two spinners spinning it big out of the rough.Hopefully, the hard work will pay off in this Test and we can get a good result.”
“From the guys who have been out here before they have said you can lose a Test in one session and that was proved in the second Test. We were thoroughly disappointed to lose that,” said Stokes of the defeat on Monday. “But we also took some confidence about how long we could bat if we put the right application in,” said Stokes of England’s tail-enders putting up stiff resistance on the final day.”
Stokes also spoke about Mark Wood’s absence from the third test and said, “Woody, especially in last game, showed how vital he is in these conditions with the reverse swing and extra pace,” he said.”The ankle has been a setback for quite a while so the best possible way to get as many games as possible out of him is to rest him from time to time.”