Bu Amir Hussain (7 February 2012)

Not so long ago, the world of test cricket was taken aback by the margin of defeat suffered by the ICC’s top-ranked Test team, India, who surrendered their pole position to a rampant England. England replaced them as the premier test side and it was widely assumed given the talent and resources available, the defence of the title would be a formality for a few years to come.

Some voices, mainly from the subcontinent, warned of the unique challenges offered by cricket in Asia – namely India – but the spectre of a loss against Pakistan in the UAE was at best, a remote possibility. The general expectation prior to the commencement of the series was that England would face stiff resistance from a Pakistan side playing in the UAE, but the margin and emphatic nature of the defeat has shocked many observers of the game.

Mudassar Nazar, the former Pakistani opening batsman who is now the head coach at the International Cricket Council’s global academy in Dubai, has been watching this England team at close quarters here in UAE. In exclusive comments to PakPassion.net, Mudassar, expressed his astonishment at the manner of the capitulation by the England team and also expressed his fears for what lay ahead in their upcoming tours of the sub-continent.

Mudassar in his pre-series review with PakPassion.net did envisage a tight contest between the two sides, but he, like many others, did not envisage the margin of defeat for England “They went to India for an ODI series and were whitewashed, and then they came here and this has happened – so in a way a loss wasn't wholly unexpected, but no one expected England to fold so meekly in UAE – that is a total surprise.”

In terms of the factors contributing to for the loss, Mudassar is convinced that whereas the Pakistani bowling was of high quality, it was the pressure of the defeat in the first Test that created doubts in English minds “They have some quality batsmen but the impact of the 1st Test loss was too much to bear – with obvious benefits for Pakistan. All Pakistani bowlers such as Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman and Umar Gul bowled well and there was some assistance from the pitch – the ball was turning but not that sharply. Even Umar Gul took wickets at crucial times during the series. Don’t get me wrong, but Gul had no business taking those wickets on the 4th day of the 3rd Test match! Yes, he was bowling splendidly but it was England batsmen who lost their confidence and gifted their wickets when even one or two partnerships could have taken the game away.”

The pre-series personality hype created by the media or possibly by the spin doctors of both camps seemed to centre around the spin of Saeed Ajmal and Graeme Swann and names like Abdur Rehman and Monty Panesar did not figure. From an England point of view, the fact that Monty Panesar is widely accepted as having outbowled his spin partner was another source of as bewilderment for pundits. Mudassar for his part is convinced that Swann, despite his lacklustre performances in UAE, remains an integral part of the England bowling unit “I was impressed by Monty as he made a return after a long time and he settled in well after such a long lay-off, picking up wickets while Swann did not bowl well even though the pitches did suit him. In fact, he didn’t bowl well against the Indian either, so he needs to work on his bowling. England certainly needs Swann at his best and he was not as effective as Saeed Ajmal in this series”.

With the dust slowly settling down from the aftermath of the Test series, all eyes are now focussing towards England’s next assignment in Sri Lanka. Given the problems faced against Pakistani spinners in the UAE, England will be hoping for a improved performance by their batsmen against the Sri Lankans. Muddasar is convinced that England will be able to weather the Sri Lankan tour but their real problem lies later in the year, against India “It will be tough for them against India but against Sri Lanka – because they don’t have a quality spinner and let’s be honest, the Sri Lankan bowling attack is not as good as that from Pakistan – that should give them some breathing space and with time before the India series to regain their confidence. However, with Harbhajan back to his best and by looking at Pakistan’s success with a left arm spinner, Ojha will also feature prominently making life tough for England”.