England vs Pakistan reaction: Follow-on decision benefits tourists, says Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur
Alastair Cook opted not to force Pakistan to bat again, despite them trailing England by almost 400 runs at the time
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Your support makes all the difference.Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur admits England’s decision not to enforce the follow-on during the third day of the second Test has given his side a better chance of escaping from the match with a draw.
England opted against forcing Pakistan to bat again despite establishing a first-innings lead of 391 after dismissing the tourists for 198.
That call prompted widespread criticism on social media and from commentators, who derided it as overly conservative on a day which saw 27 overs lost to the temperamental Manchester weather despite the fact England still ended it 489 runs ahead on 98 for one.
Paul Farbrace, England’s assistant coach, later defended the decision, insisting the hosts saw it as the best way to win the match and level the series following last week’s 75-run defeat in the first Test at Lord’s.
But Arthur, when asked if he thought his team now had a better chance of fighting out a draw over the remaining two days of this match, said: “Probably yes – it gives us a better chance. That’s certainly not an inflammatory headline at all because irrespective of when Alastair declares we are going to have to bat damn well.
“It’s an interesting one. Alastair Cook has his reasons. We’re a long way behind in the game and are happy that he didn’t [enforce the follow-on]. “But England are so far ahead he could take time to rest his quick bowlers - that was the decision he took. All I can say is that we fully expected to be batting again.”
Farbrace confirmed England’s decision was arrived at through consultation between Cook and coach Trevor Bayliss.
He said: “You could quite easily understand why people thought we should have enforced the follow-on but we haven’t and we’re happy with the decision.
“There was not a lot of discussion, it was a simple conversation. When you make those decisions, you get on and back it up. It’s up to us to prove we got it right.
“It was a pretty simple decision to bat again. We thought we’d bat while the wicket was still good, rather than put ourselves under pressure when it gets worse.
”It could have gone either way, but I think it's the right decision and hopefully we’ll be proven right.
“We’re in the driving seat of this game, have played some excellent cricket over the three days and we think by keeping them under pressure we will dominate. There's no point risking putting ourselves under pressure later in the game.
”With the wickets in hand we have got, we can push on in the morning. There’s still 200 overs to be bowled in the match so there's plenty of time.“
When asked if England’s call to bat on was to protect James Anderson and Ben Stokes, who are both returning from injury, Farbrace insisted: ”No, they’re both fully fit. It’s great to have them back in the team.”
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