Yes,Pakistan performed better than England in the first test and we won emphatically .But the media(even the Indian media) has extolled Pakistan too much.Atleast they should reserve their praise till the end of series.Drawback is our guys can get too complacent and may not work as hard as they should.I am not implying that the this is a deliberate ploy by media to derail Pakistan's progress in the ongoing series but Pakistan cricket team has always fallen short of its potential ever since the retirement of Imran (largely because of cricket politics been rife)and pundits should reserve their judgement atleast till this series ends.
The English cricket team over celebrated the Ashes 2005 win.Queen gave MBE's to those who contributed as little as 10 runs in the Ashes win and the consequence was that they were never the same team again for the next 3-4 yrs.
The media is praising Pakistan too much
posted on 22/1/12
PR,
He actually said this, the poor old fella is reaching a stage where he needs a walking stick and maybe its time he retired, because hes quickly losing it..... No point of crying about ajmals action, when england batsmen felt dizzy against umar gul in the 2nd innings - whats the excuse/reason for that then? Lets face it, none of us truley rate umar gul in tests.......
I do expect england to do better, but this series is either heading for a pak win or a draw - i just dont see pak losing twice in a row now.
posted on 22/1/12
Afridi.......can you really see a draw coming out of either the 2nd or 3rd test with the wickets prepared as such.
I feel to winner of the toss is very important in deciding the outcome of this series...
posted on 22/1/12
I can see a draw. that pitch was not a 45 degreee turning wicket, it was flat, slow and good for batting, as pakistan showed in their innings. England just ballsed it up. If England bat better in the next two tests, and Pakistan maintain their current standard, then i can certainly see a drawn test.
posted on 22/1/12
Jezzer we didn't get to see what is going to happen in days 4 & 5 and I anticipate the ball will turn and cause plenty of headaches for those in the middle.....personally I can't see any drawn games on these tracks....
posted on 22/1/12
Firstly, why the beer rabbit?
secondly, you may be right rabbit, but based on what i have seen in other test matches held in the UAE that has not been the case. I think the Pitches will stay pretty true till very late on. If England had Batted properly, and made say 500, and pakistan had made their 338, that would have had us onto day 4, england would have batted again say 250 or so declared, and then on the 5th day, i could see pakistan batting out the 5th day.
Ifs and Buts i know, but i could certainly see a draw happening on these pitches.
posted on 22/1/12
Rabbit, I know what happens on day 4 and 5 mate. Seen plenty of games on these tracks. I can see both of the two games as draws.
posted on 22/1/12
Abu Dhabi track has had a reputation of getting flatter as the test continues and day 4 and 5 there is no turn, no variable bounce and hardly any reverse. Still England can still do the usual and bat first and apply scoreboard pressure.
People keep harping on the poor shots the England batsman played but there was plenty of bad shots from our batsman. Our batsmen will also get better so if Rob Key thinks that England will win if they score 300 all Pakistan will say is thank you very much and then put a real score on the board. England if they bat first need a minimum 550 which was not enough for South Africa last year but England have Swann while SA had Harris.
posted on 22/1/12
The biggy for me as an Englishman is how we continue to struggle in Sub Continent conditions with the bat.
From a cricket fans perspective, all credit to Pakistan who for the first time in ages look very stable under the leadership of a team man, No offence to Afridi, who is a good one day player - but he isn't really test material and in my opinion having those sort of players in the test arena can cause issues.
Ajmal is a class act. Gul is also a fine performer on his day. How sad to think of just how brilliant and varied the bowling attack would be with Amir and Asif in it.
posted on 22/1/12
Amir will be shaking his head for years to come the stupid twit....
posted on 22/1/12
Jezzer...... why the beer you ask.
It's just a means of cheers....good luck or his to ya!!!