Gary Ballance remains largely unchanged in terms of his technique at the crease but after top-scoring for England on day one at Edgbaston, the left-hander admitted his outlook on international cricket now differs from that during his first spell in the Test side.
Ballance, who made 70 from 150 balls in his fourth innings since being recalled at the start of the current series, was name‑checked by the Pakistan head coach, Mickey Arthur, before the third Test as one of two batsmen playing for their Test futures along with James Vince.
The targeted comments from Arthur were not picked up by Ballance, however, whose approach, after being dropped two Tests into last summer’s Ashes series victory despite averaging 47 from 15 Tests, is to now cut out the peripheral noise and simply enjoy what he has previously admitted is a slightly unexpected second coming. “I didn’t have a clue he said that, to be honest. I don’t really read the sports news,” Ballance said.
“I got away from that last year. I didn’t even know I was under pressure, I was just coming to play a game of cricket. But then playing Test cricket you are under pressure anyway. You put yourself under pressure – it’s hard enough without listening to other people ... I just want to score runs and do well, luckily today I got a decent score.
“It’s good to get a decent score to feel part of it again. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it last time but if I didn’t have a good day it really got to me. But now, if that’s the case, so be it. You have good days and bad days, probably more bad than good, so you have to get that balance right. Do that and hopefully the runs will come.”
On his much-analysed and idiosyncratic technique, he said: “I tried to change and couldn’t score a run. It’s very similar to before but it’s getting my trigger movement in early so I am more still at the crease. It’s little things but I feel like if I’m balanced at the crease with my head still, I can go forward and bat. I might get ugly dismissals but hopefully I will be able to play my own way.”
Ballance described England’s 297 all out as a par score on a pitch he felt seamed all day, with the team not looking much further than that total at the tea interval when the score was 184 for five and he sat unbeaten on 49. Should the overhead conditions remain the same for the second day, the 26-year-old sees it being to the liking of his seam-bowling colleagues. He said: “We thought it was about par, at tea we said let’s scrap to 300 and be happy with that. That’s what we did.
“If someone gets a big hundred we get 400 but none of the batters felt in all day. There was sideways movement the whole day and it kept you honest. It could be perfect for us and hopefully it stays a bit cloudy. Start well in the morning and it will set us up for the rest of the game.”
Sohail Khan, the Pakistan fast bowler who is playing his third Test and his first in nearly five years, celebrated his figures of five for 96 with the press-up celebration that followed his side’s win in the series opener at Lord’s and, naturally, gave the pitch a more favourable report than Ballance. The 32-year-old said: “We believe our batsmen are in good nick and the pitch is not quick. Scrap hard and work for your runs, there is no reason why you cannot score on it.
“I always believed I would play for Pakistan again and if you work hard, you can achieve good performances. But belief is very important and this is a great honour for me to do this for my country.”
