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It looks like Tuesday's second Test in Multan will be played on the same ground that resulted in England's sensational victory on Friday – with Ben Stokes in line to return for his first match since July.
No one remembered whether England had ever played consecutive Tests on the same surface – especially with three days off between matches.
However, Pakistan's Australian board host, Tony Hemming, had set up giant fans at both ends of the pitch to dry it out after heavy watering, and all indications were that the pitch would be used once again.
The ICC Competition Rules do not rule out such a scenario, with the column stating: “The venues charged with hosting the match are expected to provide the best possible on-field and on-field conditions for this match.”
Problems will only arise if the pitch turns out to be substandard, with spinners potentially coming into play on a pitch that from day one will effectively be a pitch on day six – despite some irritating body language from Pakistan head coach Jason Gillespie as he surveyed the pitch. on Sunday morning.
The second Test will be played on the exact same pitch where England dominated in Pakistan
Brendon McCullum's men won by an innings and 47 runs after a ridiculous first innings score of 823/7
Another additional boost for England is the imminent return of captain Ben Stokes from injury
With Jack Leach taking seven wickets in the first Test, surpassing all other slow bowlers in the game, this should not worry England – especially as Pakistan's first-choice spinner Abrar Ahmed is still in hospital with dengue fever.
An added complication is that no one can yet rule out that the third Test – starting October 24 – will also be played in Multan due to political unrest in Rawalpindi caused by the continued detention of the country's former prime minister and cricket captain Imran Khan.
Meanwhile, Stokes threw himself with real energy into a volunteer net session in England, which was attended by only a handful of players. If he returns as expected after shaking off a hamstring injury, he will likely replace Chris Woakes.
The captain spent most of the first Test literally on the periphery, walking around the boundary with drink bottles.
If and when he bowls, it will most likely be against a Pakistan team without its star batsman and former captain Babar Azam, who was reported by local media to have been dropped from the team after failing to reach 50 in the last 18 innings Test runs, including 30 and 5 against England last week.
Attack leader Shaheen Shah Afridi may also miss the game due to health problems.
England will be hoping to repeat their first Test heroics after becoming the first team in 147 years of the oldest and greatest format of the game to be victorious in the innings by a team that conceded at least 500 innings in the first innings.
The victory was packed with other notable feats as Joe Root broke Alastair Cook's England run record, Harry Brook scored his first Test three since Graham Gooch in 1990, and a total of 823 for seven – which was almost a five-and-a-half plus for goodness sake – was the fourth highest in any test.
