Bowlers eye more assistance from Sharjah pitch after runathon in first Test

There were centuries aplenty - seven of them, in fact - in the first Test between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, but only 25 wickets were taken across the five days which meant spoils were shared. With a series on the line, both teams will be keen to find ways to change that and claim a trophy, especially given the rarity of two-match series for either of them which is set to remain the status quo.

While they take the field, the ICC meetings will be taking place in Bali and the future make-up of the World Test Championship (WTC) is one of the issues on the agenda. Zimbabwe are hopeful of the competition's expansion, even if only to include them, but ultimately want to see all Full Members participating in the longest format. To that end, they have lobbied for one-off Tests to be included in the WTC, on the understanding that many teams will only be able to host them for a game at a time or would prefer to tour for that length.

Whether they have convinced the other Full Members remains to be seen and, after playing 10 Tests in 2025 and being the only team to score 500 runs twice in a Test last week, they will feel they could not have done much more.

Afghanistan's interests in WTC participation have not been as vocal, perhaps because they face different challenges. Without a home base, Afghanistan would likely be reliant on teams inviting them to play matches and neither England (who are believed to oppose a larger WTC) nor Australia will engage with them bilaterally. The costs of hosting Tests, especially in the places like the UAE, is significant and Afghanistan's white-ball progress suggests their main interests lie there.

Still, they have shown the mettle to compete at Test level, posted a 500-plus total of their own and continue to unearth enviable talent. They have only won one Test series that included more than a one-off game before - against Zimbabwe in 2024 - so they have some memory of success at that level and will hope to repeat it ahead of next year's visit to West Indies.

Afghanistan: DDLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Zimbabwe: DWWLL

In a match dominated by the bat, Mohammad Saleem was the most threatening bowler of the Afghan pack. Across 27.3 overs in Zimbabwe's first innings, he took 3 for 82, executed the yorker well and was able to get some seam movement. He followed that up by dismissing Zimbabwe's captain Brian Bennett with a delivery that moved late and has shown the ability to break through batters' defences. Saleem is Afghanistan's highest wicket-taker in Tests this year and 18th on the overall list and could climb into the annual top 10 in this match.

Belgian-born but Zimbabwe qualified, Antum Naqvi's debut went relatively unnoticed amid a glut of runs from his team-mates but with a first-class average that has just dipped under 60, there will be plenty of interest in his progress. Naqvi was strangled down the leg side in the first innings but came back well to score 61in the second dig. He will be disappointed with the way he was dismissed after he sent a paddle sweep to square leg to give Abdul Malik his first international wicket and will want to be more judicious in future. Naqvi's bowling is also worth keeping an eye on. He sent down 29 overs in match one, with figures of 0 for 92.

Afghanistan used eight bowlers in Zimbabwe's second innings in match one and could only take five wickets and will want to look at ways they can be more attacking. Legspinner Qais Ahmed was expensive in the first innings and went wicketless in the second and could make way for Khalil Gurbaz, who has only played one Test. Afghanistan also have seam-bowling allrounder Ismat Alam in the ranks if they want to add a quick bowler.

Afghanistan: (possible) 1 Sediqullah Atal, 2 Abdul Malik, 3 Rahmanullah, 4 Rahmat Shah (capt), 5 Hashmatullah Shahidi, 6 Shahidullah, 7 Ikram Alikhil (wk), 8 Qais Ahmed/Khalil Gurbaz, 9 Zia-ur-Rehman, 10 Mohammad Saleem, 11 Ziaur Rahman

Zimbabwe chose to bat out the final day of the first Test to save their bowlers from spending any more time in the field than they felt was needed, after concluding there was not enough assistance from the surface to take 10 wickets. That suggests they may keep their attack the same but if they are considering more wicket-taking options, they could go in a batter short and play Brad Evans. Graeme Cremer put in a big shift and bowled 55 overs in Sharjah for this three wickets and should keep his place unless Zimbabwe feel left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza would be more threatening.

Zimbabwe: (possible) 1 Innocent Kaia, 2 Ben Curran, 3 Brendan Taylor, 4 Brian Bennett, 5 Craig Ervine, 6 Antum Naqvi, 7 Wessly Madhevere, 8 Tafadzwa Tsiga (wk), 9 Graeme Cremer, 10 Newman Nyamhuri, 11 Blessing Muzarabani

With 1,541 runs scored in the first Test, it's fair to assume that even if the second match is played on a different strip, conditions could be fairly batter-friendly. Run-scoring was also relatively quick in game one with Zimbabwe's first innings run-rate at 3.74, which they upped to 4.28 in the second innings and there was also no deterioration to assist the spinners.

Taking wickets will be a challenge for both sides as they seek to force a result, and a series win but, at least, conditions will be slightly kinder. Temperatures are not as high as last week when they hit a maximum of 37 degrees Celsius and will be closer to 30 degrees and there may even be a cloud or two around.

"Hopefully they produce a wicket that allows for a result and gives the bowlers something to work with and challenges the batters. Ultimately, you want results in Test cricket and you want a fair challenge and I hope they can produce something that does that."
Zimbabwe's coach Justin Sammons would like to see a surface with a little more spice in it for the second Test.