December 04, 2022
England's assistant coach Paul Collingwood was confident Sunday about the team's approach to winning the first Test against Pakistan at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
The visitors surprised with a brave call of declaring their second innings at 264-7, setting the home side to chase 343 runs, and they have the upper hand at the end of day four.
"It was a brave call to declare by our captain. This declaration was something Stokes and McCullum always wanted to make Test cricket entertaining," he said during the post-match press conference.
"It’s exciting, isn’t it? On a pitch that’s been pretty docile and slow, and to be in a position now to watch a game that’s exciting tomorrow, it’s going to be great for everyone," the excited Collingwood added.
Pakistan finished day 1 at 80 for the loss of two wickets. They need 263 runs to win and go 1-0 up in the three-match Test series.
Collingwood said his team is not scared of losing. "We are not scared of losing, which is a good position to be in. It takes the consequences away from the players and how we want to go about things. Tomorrow, hopefully, we can get on the right side and get a win."
"Some might say it was an early declaration. We will see tomorrow if it is or if it is a really good declaration," he concluded.
Imam-ul-Haq (43*), who also scored a hundred in the first innings, alongside debutant Saud Shakeel (24*) will resume the charge on the match-deciding day tomorrow.