As has been the case in the first three Tests of the IND vs ENG series, there is also a lot of grass on the wickets till the eve of the matches, and then it disappears on the days of the clashes. Manchester, Old Trafford will be no different, where the grass is likely to go, and it could once again be low and slow, could offer a some runs to the batters of both the teams. In fact, spin could do wonders on the pitch, or at least offer something different.
Low-Scoring or High-scoring Test?
Traditionally, Manchester is one of the quickest wickets in England, that offers a lot of bounce, but the last few matches, it has been nothing like that. In the last few matches here, SL and ENG returned with scores of 236, 326, 358 and 205. Prior to that, the Ashes 2023 saw England pile 592 runs, while AUS saved the match by scoring 317 and 214. In the 2022 match vs SA, ENG scored 415 in one of the innings.
But then, what is different now, from the first three Tests is, there could be some rain on all days of the match. If that happens, there might be a little assistance to the pacers. But that would be temporary. Former England pacer Steve Harmison offered great insight into how the wicket might play in the Manchester Test.
Two Spinners Ideal for Manchester Test
“Old Trafford, if it is going to rain anywhere and it hasn’t rained in England for about three months, if it is going to rain anywhere, it will be Manchester as it always does. We could do with some rain because we could do with some lively surface,” Harmison said on ESPNcricinfo Match Day.
“The first-class pitches in Manchester in the last 18 months or two years haven’t been like they were 10 or 15 years ago. They were bouncy pitches. They were hard and aggressive with a reverse swing. They are all very similar now. They are very slow, very flat,” he added.
In fact, Harmison went to the extent of saying, that two spinners could come into play on this wicket. “If there is a chance of playing with two spinners, you might play two spinners in Manchester. England won’t because they have Liam Dawson. I think it will be a very similar wicket to what we have had at Edgbaston,” he said.
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