IND vs ENG: “Last two pitches are the hardest I have kept on,” says Ben Foakes

Wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Foakes also expressed his views regarding the ongoing debate on the poor quality of the Motera pitch during the pink-ball Test between India and England that ended within two days with the hosts winning by 10 wickets. It is learned that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to prepare a pitch for the fourth Test that will be a ‘batting delight’.

However, Foakes believes that spin will come into play in the last Test from the first ball itself as India are pushing their conditions to the “extremities” in the ongoing Test series. The 28-year-old lauded India for presenting a stunning show at Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium and completely outplaying the visitors.

“Obviously, we got thoroughly outplayed. Those were tricky conditions, but they played well. They have a couple of class spinners and we did not have answers to them so I think going forward, we have to be good enough to counter that to score big runs on the board.

“I think we know what we are going to get in the last Test in terms of surface. They are pushing their conditions to the extremities and we know it is going to spin from ball number one, it is about finding a way to play well in those conditions,” said Foakes as quoted by Sportskeeda.

The last two pitches are the hardest I have kept on: Ben Foakes

Foakes was given the responsibility of keeping the wickets for the English team after the regular keeper Jos Buttler boarded the flight back to India after the first Test in Chennai as a part of players rotational policy by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Foakes has done a commendable job thus far behind the stumps and has managed to impress the who’s who of the cricket fraternity.

Speaking about his performance, Ben reckoned that it has been extremely hard for him to keep on the last two pitches as the ball has been skidding and spinning a lot. He further asserted that the England team needs to put a good performance in the last Test to draw the series.

“The last two pitches are the hardest I have kept on, the last game, the pink-ball was skidding and the amount it was spinning, I have never seen that and it was a challenge to keep on those wickets. We have been outplayed in the last two games, but we are in a position to draw the series, we have to put up a good performance and if we go away with a 2-2 draw, it will be a good performance,” concluded Ben Foakes.