LAHORE: Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood on Saturday said his focus was on “result-oriented pitches”, rather than surfaces that yield high-scoring draws.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference at the Gaddafi Stadium ahead of the two-match Test series against South Africa, the Pakistan captain said taking 20 wickets was the key to achieving results, rather than focusing on posting huge totals.
“We plan to get 20 wickets and want to break away from the historically produced pitches in the country,” he said.
However, Masood admitted that it was difficult to predict how the newly constructed pitch at the Gaddafi Stadium will behave in a five-day match.
The Pakistan captain emphasized the importance of taking advantage of home conditions to win matches and earn crucial World Test Championship (WTC) points.
“It is very important to do well in all home Test series and a single win in an away match to be better placed in the World Test Championship (WTC) table,” he said.
Masood expressed satisfaction with his individual batting performance during the previous WTC cycle, saying his performance was criticized for the team’s “accumulative failure”.
While the Pakistan captain remained tight-lipped about the Playing XI, he said the side might field two fast bowlers and as many spinners.
‘Spinning conditions a fair challenge’
South Africa stand-in captain Aiden Markram said home side Pakistan were well within their rights to prepare extremely turning wickets for the series, which starts on Sunday.
Their 2-1 win over England a year ago came after they used a pair of giant windbreaks, two outsized fans and six patio heaters to speed up the deterioration of the pitch and create a surface that offered the spinners maximum turnability and grip.
It was a successful ploy as they bounced back from losing the first Test to beat England in circumstances that losing captain Ben Stokes called “quite extreme”.
But Markram, who is leading South Africa in place of injured skipper Temba Bavuma, said it was all part of the challenge.
“We saw how it ended in the English series,” he told a press conference. “That was clearly the way Pakistan tried to win, and it’s completely fair, and we look forward to that challenge.”
South Africa had worked hard on preparation, he added, creating wickets with extreme spin to practice on in a training camp before their departure.
“That’s where most of the focus has been, obviously we’re looking forward to the challenges that Pakistan brings in terms of spin-friendly tracks.
“As a team not exposed to these conditions, it’s exciting for us and a great opportunity to get things right in these conditions. We’re trying to draw a lot of attention to that and ultimately put together five days of good cricket for the first Test.”
Besides Bavuma, South Africa will be without their main spinner Keshav Maharaj, who will miss the first Test as he recovers from a groin injury.
“We will miss Kesh hopes,” Markram told reporters. “He’s incredible even when the ball isn’t turning, so it’s a big loss for us, but it’s an opportunity for two or three other new spinners of ours to put their hands up and stake a claim, which is really exciting.”
Senuran Muthusamy and Simon Harmer, who last played a Test two years ago, are likely to be in the team.
