Battle for number two will resume (preview of test series Pak v/s Eng)

Battle for number two will resume (preview of pak v/s eng)

As the test series kicks off on 13th of July 8, 2006, we have an interesting battle ahead of us, England hanging on their number 2 spot by thick of their skin and Pakistan must be licking its lips to topple injury ridden Englishmen from their coveted spot, an intriguing series is in prospect.

So let’s compare these two teams’ head to head teeth to teeth to find out who stand where

History: nothing like bit of bitter history to start with, ask Englishmen whom they hate to loose most and answer would be Australia, ask the question again and after them, and yup answer would be Pakistan.
These two teams have been engaged in some brittle battles, Pakistan of last two decades seems to have stranglehold on Englishmen, of course it was Pakistan who cut short English prolong ashes victory celebration and bit them dust in Pakistan with a series win, although England restored some pride with a surprising win over India, but recent series against Lanka was nothing short of a nightmare, they drew the test series 1-1 which many believe they should have won and humiliation of whitewash in one dayers must be hurting them hard,

Now Pakistan series gives them a chance to restore some of that pride and also save their number 2 spot which seems to be in imminent danger with impressive Pakistan looking to dethrone them, talking about Pakistan they seems to be having their best run in long time
Wins against England, India and Lanka sound impressive after their debacle in Australia in 2004 they have regrouped, have become consistent bob woolmer seems to have bought a sense of calmness and professionalism in their game, which sounds good as Pakistan is known for their mercurial but temperamental display in past blazing on all guns one moment and looking sitting duck next, leadership issues have been sorted out and Inzy seems to be having a rather trouble free run as their captain even boosted further as he already been announced as their captain to lead them into world cup, the volatile nature of Pakistan cricket looks now much more organized and they of course will be slight favorites in this series.

Openers: England beats them on this front hands down as a matter of fact anyone will beat Pakistan in this department, and this is one area which can hurt Pakistan badly in this series, England on the other hand will expect struass and trescothick to provide them sound start so that their suspect middle order can get some breathing space. Pakistan opening combination might do the trick for English attack however, as their two strike bowlers will try to open up Pakistan batting with some early blows and put pressure on their strong looking middle order,

Do’s and don’t: for Pakistan whoever opens farhat, malik or butt they must look to give Pakistan a good start and look to wear harmy and hoggy out of the attack, if they succeed in that England backup bowlers do not look that much threatening, openers who will do well on this tour can expect a longer run so good opportunity for youngsters to cement their place.
Don’ts for Pakistan openers never ever see videos of ashes specially the first test,
This is again where England have their big chance Pakistan opening combination will definitely give English bowlers sleepless nights, (I mean in anticipation) taking early wickets is going to be the key
Don’ts- don’t get too eager for target practice and take them lightly

Middle order: Pakistan is head and shoulder ahead here and I think how middle order will perform is going to be deciding factor for this series, when you look at stats it’s the middle and lower order which has been scoring for Pakistan, with yousuf, yonus and Inzy Pakistan seems to have an obvious advantage over poms but danger lies ahead for them with Afridi, razzak and impressive akmal to come Englishmen knows Pakistan can always comeback, matter of fact lack of quality third seamer and world class spinner can hurt England here, they will have to especially make plans for akmal who off-late is playing gilcrist like innings for Pakistan and has featured in many glorious fight backs when Pakistan looked dead and buried, England middle order will have to play big part here no Freddie either at least in the first test, apart from dangerous Pietersen it looks rather mediocre, though Bell played well against Pakistan and handled kaneria well, Collingwood we all know is a fighter cook impressed in India, Key, Shah they all have talent but still miles to go, Jones has played some crucial innings and will have to play some more overall how will their middle order fare more so against kaneria is going to be key they all will have to rise to the occasion and play at their best if they want to stop Pakistan from running away with the series.

Bowling attack: Had it not been to injuries, this series would have been a battle of pace shoaib, rana, sami,asif on one hand and HArmy, hoggy, flintoff and Jones on another, it’s a real shame that such a mouthwatering battle will not be witnessed, still there are quality pacers at both the side, England first, and they still look good even in the absence of Freddie. Harminson and hoggy are world class and very good in home conditions, they of course will have to carry the burden of taking regular wickets and provide England crucial breakthroughs,
Monty is not bad very accurate can block one end and dry up runs interestingly Pakistan does not play bowlers who turn the ball away from them I still remember Giles played a crucial part in their win on Pakistan soil, kumble, Warne they all have better record against them
So it would be interesting to see how he fares against Pakistan, maybe with no pressure on him he could be the underdog England is hoping for to come good, plunkett, or whoever will have to fill shoes of third bowler and Pakistan as Lanka did must target them, Pakistan attack is respected by England but maybe there is a loophole here, Asif is going to lead the attack as he has done so successfully against Lanka but he is still new to international scene it’s a pity that just when Pakistan discovered a gem of a bowler he is left alone to carry the burden of main strike bowler in absence of senior members, his form is going to be crucial for Pakistan but he will require support from the other end, and this is where somebody has to come good, Gul has fully recovered and conditions are tailor made for him, he looked ordinary in lanka tour but pitches here are different and he has the ability to produce the kind of spell which devastated India, Sami who promised so much and delivered so little has been given another chance to redeem himself, many of his fans including myself have grown impatient watching him
Spraying his talent in wilderness as his deliveries, what he must realize is that keeping it simple would be the best thing just stick to line and length bowl in right areas and at least keep it tight, I have on many occasion felt that he can do it, but pressure of getting breakthrough gets into him and ends up loosing the plot more often, but pressure would certainly be their, it may very well be his last dig at securing a place for himself, just as the opening slot, Pakistan have vacancy in their bowling lineup, and he will do himself a great favor to grab it from both the hands. Nazir or samiullah are unlikely to get an opportunity until somebody get injurered or perform pathetically, still
It’s a long series and reserve may be called on.

Flintoff and Rana both are likely to return for 2nd test, if that happens it will add some spark and spice and can bear a huge influence in the final outcome. All in all both team look equal in their attack with two outstanding bowlers each, at either side, the last thing one want is lack of firepower resulting in boring draws.

Wicket-keepers and fielding : Jones can be described as poor cousin of akmal, not to take anything away from him but his keeping has come in constant critiscm and many wonder why Read is not their, on most of the occasions his batting has saved the day for him, maybe Jones would feel the heat as he would be very closely monitored, his detractors are only looking for an excuse to hang him, akmal on the other had has impressed one and all, many purist believe he is if not the best then one of the best keepers around and he can walk into any team on that merit alone, now add to it his wonderful form with the bat, not only he has saved Pakistan from blushes on many occasion but he scores at a rapid rate and change the complexion of the match.
I am sure England will have plans for him because you can’t allow this little dynamite to explode. Fielding has always been a weak spot for Pakistan, but England on the other hand have been notorious for their butter finger they have just a slight edge as far as ground fielding is concerned what with collingwood, ready to lift the spirits with anything spectacular, but both the teams have candidate for worst fielders award, Danish and Monty both would like to keep the dreaded
Crown away, we all know the importance of a drop catch, or a missed run out chance, with both the teams looking short of bowlers how crucial are these going to will be anybody guess.


Captaincy and field placements: there are so many reason why England achieved the marvelous feat of winning the Ashes, one among them was their homework against Australian batsman, they had plans for each and every batsman regarding the field setting and which bowlers will attack whom, like flintoff targeted gilchirst, they will certainly miss Vaughn skills or Flintoff dynamism, to add to that Strauss has been elevated to captaincy albeit a make shift arrangement, but he will have expertise of Fletcher available to him, how he execute it on the field would be an altogether differnent matter, he will do well to throw out memories of that embarrassing whitewash, and start all new, easier said then done as flintoff can come back anytime and one test hardly gives a captain to stamp his authority, how well the plans are executed on the field will be the key, but England is a through professional side, recent example comes to mind is how they stifled sehwag, Pakistan on the other hand has been found wanting in this department, phenomenal success of sehwag against Pakistan reflect poorly on the planning or execution department, Inzy captaincy can not be described as dynamic, it appears sometime that he goes with certain fixed plan, and makes crucial errors when situation demand something different, recently I was most impressed with Jayewardene especially in the last test, the way he dried out runs for pieterson and frustrated him to gift his wicket is just one of the example of how you always do not depend on inspired performance from the bowlers, Pakistan more often then not depends heavily. How they bowl to trescothick and peiterson and what field they will set for them??

Players to watch out for: Asif, Danish, Inzy, yusuf, younis, akmal, razzak underdogs would be Gul, sami, Malik, butt from Pakistan
Harminson, Hoggard, Trescothick, peiterson, Strauss underdogs can be Monty, Ian bell, Collingwood,

Which way it will go : rather then going into the prediction business, lets contemplate on the likely scenarios, Pakistan batting is always suspects under seaming and swinging conditions, so lord would be a difficult game, you can expect results on these kind of tracks on batting paradise both teams may struggle to get a result, it’s a question of who will have the ability to come back hard, if they find themselves in a hole, Pakistan off-late has done well in these kind of scenarios, but the pitches were different, , another peculiar thing which I have noticed about Pakistan is that they always fare poorly specially with the bat in their opening test, now can they afford to do that here when England is down and desperately looking to get out of lull, Pakistan has been playing on sub-continent for long time and how they adapt themselves on English pitches is what critics wants to see before they unanimously give them the Number 2 spot, what combination will Pak play? Will they go with four specialist bowlers(which they must do) or will prefer all-rounders over specialist again, Pakistan has got away with some blunders especially pertaining to their combination, but this England side will definitely test them and expose every shortcoming which they have, many have overwritten-off this depleted and fresh from One day defeats team, but Pakistan can ill afford to take them lightly, they are very good in longer version of game and would be really desperate to regain their pride. There is a saying that an Englishmen would always finish second (the gentlemen that they are) to the surprise of many English critics Pakistan will try their best to prove them wrong.


By Fight_club

Quiet a long read covering every possible angle of this series but, it will come down to who has the most steel, tempramant, ability and skills in these test matches. Excellent post Fight_club.

thanks, luton, by looking at the number of injuries, it would also be important to stay positive, also read some mind games being played regarding injuries here as well

Good preview.... but honestley, not read it properly yet...

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