Pakistan have put their first-Test collapse down to the weather. Umar Gul, the tourists’ bowling coach, said a Yorkshire cold snap left his fast bowlers unable to execute at Headingley, where England won by an innings and 103 runs. The Pakistan Headingley weather explanation was offered at Lord’s on Tuesday, two days before the second Test.
Gul said his squad arrived from the West Indies in heat and were caught out by the change on the journey north. ESPNcricinfo’s Danyal Rasool reported that England needed to bat only once at Headingley, posting 409, and judged a game-plan built on a southern forecast holding in Leeds a rocky foundation.
“When we came here from WI, the weather was hot. It was a hot summer. We weren’t expecting it to be this cold,” Gul said. “When we reached Headingley, it was totally different. It rained and the weather was cold … That’s why we couldn’t bowl that well, and we couldn’t execute due to the weather. But I hope they acclimatise with the weather and do well in the next game.”
What the Pakistan Headingley weather case leaves out
The forecast does not account for the batting. ESPNcricinfo records that England took fewer than 86 overs to bowl Pakistan out twice — the fifth-fewest England have needed for two completed innings — and Rasool called the showing spineless. Gul did not hide behind the conditions entirely. “We’ll have to learn from the mistakes we made in the previous game,” he said. “But in these conditions, the responsibility lies more with the bowlers.”
Help arrives with Babar Azam set to return as captain. The Lord’s Test begins on Thursday, per BBC Sport, with England 1–0 up. London in late August may not offer the excuse Leeds did.
