Patio heaters and giant fans have been used to help prepare a cricket pitch that Pakistan hope will help them beat England in the Third Test in Rawalpindi.
Pictures have been published of the unusual equipment – where cricket is concerned at least – standing at either end of the proposed pitch for the match, which starts on Thursday.
There are three patio heaters at each end of the pitch to heat the air, fans to send it rolling across the surface and windbreaks to stop it escaping.
It’s believed that ground staff want to dry out the playing surface, in order to help Pakistan’s spinners turn the ball.
With the teams level at 1-1, there is all to play for in the final match of the series at the ground in the Punjab region of northern Pakistan, close to the capital, Islamabad.
In the second Test in Multan, England lost all 20 wickets to spin bowlers Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, as the hosts won by 152 runs in conditions England captain Ben Stokes afterwards described as “extreme”.
There was a mixed reaction to the pictures on social media, with one X user saying the home side wanted to “ambush” England with another turning playing surface.
An England-based user suggested hairdryers were “being gathered up” in the city.
Someone else asked “why can’t they [ground staff] just make a normal pitch for once?”, while another user suggested the British media “is going to go mad”.
Pakistan captain Shan Masood said on Friday he “would like a turning pitch,” but admitted he wasn’t sure he’d ever seen one in the Punjab city, and said: “I think the groundsmen are already there working on it.”
Sky Sports commentator and former England captain Nasser Hussain warned against preparing another turning track, suggesting it won’t help Pakistan in the long run, and said they “need to look at their surfaces.”
However, he said the second test was “much more watchable” than the opener, which England won by a huge margin after scoring 823 in their only innings.
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Preparing pitches to suit the home side has been happening for a long time and is not banned.
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Subcontinental teams are often tempted to produce spinning conditions to suit their bowlers and nullify visiting pace attacks.
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But England coped with the conditions when they last toured Pakistan in 2021, winning 3-0.
Sky News has asked the Pakistan Cricket Board and the England and Wales Cricket Board for comment.
Live coverage of the Third Test in Rawalpindi begins at 5.30am on Thursday on Sky Sports.
