You always get that feeling that england will bounce back and come back strongly. But that hasnt happened till now. It didnt happen in india and it has'nt in UAE. I just looked at the odis which england played in india. It was their batsman, yet again, that had let them down. Do people remember the collapse that led england to be 5-0 down? they were cruising like 121-0 and all of a sudden they were bowled out in a matter of no time. If I look at those matches now, england's batting on paper looked more superior to india's as the big players were still out, and india's bowling was ok, which I believe a team like SA would have dealt with ease. But anyway the conclusion despite that being an odi and this being a test match, is english batsman collapsed in a similar fashion.
Now the question is will england win the last match? I mean I dont think it would gain them any pride as they are the no.1 team and have lost a series pretty badly. The only thing england can take from this win would be confidence to srilanka. But that said, pakistan should not let this go, and should atleast aim for 2-0. A whitewash is going to be hard, as I can see england batsman playing better than they have in this series. Overall england are in a danger of losing their no.1 spot, if performances like this continue in srlianka.
my prediction of the 3rd test is it would be a high scoring game, and if england live up to their expectation then they could sneak in with a win. but that is a big if as they havent performed in the 4 innings.
2-0 is my prediction
3-0, 2-0; 2-1; your pick?
posted on 2/2/12
With rour of our top six pretty clueless with the bat, a win seems far away unless Pakistan collapse as well.
A well fought draw is the best we can hope for.
posted on 2/2/12
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posted on 2/2/12
Draw does not looks likely with the way batters of 2 teams have performed.3-0
posted on 2/2/12
Also this test holds a lot of significance for England because a victory will lift them for the series against Lanka and India.Taking England's cricket schedule into account, this yr will decide whether they will hold no 1 spot for the forseeable future or not.
posted on 2/2/12
I just can't see England batsmen improving enough to win this game unless the bowlers are devastating.
Our batsmen not only failed in the two tests but also in the warm-up games, which means they've had ample opportunities to come good.
posted on 2/2/12
No doubt our bowlers will perform well again. If the batsman step up we'll win.
Can't see it though, unless there's a dramatic change of attitude.
posted on 2/2/12
I think the better question is who is the worst or poorly prepared team? Pakistan that lost 3-1 in England in 2010 or this England performance?
posted on 2/2/12
kash there i would have to say england. they are no.1 team and pakistan were rebuilding then + the spot fixing crap. england had 2 warm ups, and also the odis in india to work on their weaknesses. and seeing that sa just drew the test series last year, this is a very poor performance from england. even srilanka played better despite being very poor in the last 1 and a half years and managed to lose only one test. the fact is england cannot even give excuses of them having injuries as even though bresnan got injured their bowling have been very good so it probably doesnt make any difference.
posted on 2/2/12
Viru how can a fan of India have the gall to criticize England performances whilst Ingnoring the abject play from your own team.
I used to look forward to your thoughtful posts but at the moment your tirades against England are pathetic.
posted on 2/2/12
"this is a very poor performance from England"
Should read "this is a very poor performance from the English batsmen".
Imo England have shown why they are no1. Who else has the bowling attack that can perform that well in Australia, England and UAE? Unfortunately, we've also seen that their batting is a long way short of competent in all conditions.