1st Test – Pakistan v England - Dubai (Tue Jan 17 – Thu Jan 19)
Matt Prior’s words, not mine … The defeat in under three days in the first Test at the hands of Pakistan was described by the English wicketkeeper as “a good slap in the face” along with the promises of a comeback in Abu Dhabi.
He was perhaps the only English player who could look up a bit while facing the press given him being the only batsman in their side to score a half-century in the whole Test match (70 not out in first innings). The rest crumbled to Pakistan’s bowling much like Bangladesh did not so long ago. In the end the avoidance of an innings defeat was no less embarrassing for the world’s no. 1 ranked Test side as Pakistan completed the job in under three days.
A lot of people asked this question: Was it Pakistan that outperformed above their own expectations or was it England who were way below par. Now it’d take a little credit away from Pakistan but there is more truth to the later as opposed to the former. Yes, Pakistan possesses a world-class and well-balanced bowling attack but England did dig a big hole themselves. The biggest proof was them falling to spin in the first innings when the wicket was new when perhaps the faster bowlers should have troubled them more and then in the second innings almost two a half days into the game, when spin should have played a bigger role, they succumbed to Umer Gul’s pace. Excuses came from all corners of the world that range from being over-confident to not knowing the ‘alien conditions’ in the early days of the series, but they are what they are … plain ‘excuses’.
Credit must be given to Pakistan however for holding their nerve at key moments in the game. Those like me who have watched Pakistan closely over the years were half expecting their tail to wag endlessly in the first innings. It didn’t. Then even before we came out to bat, a few of us expected Pakistan to fold at an even lower total than England, let alone get anywhere close or over. That didn’t happen either. Once in the lead, two quick wickets at the end of day two and another one early on third morning was another key moment when Adnan kept his cool and showed there is after all an Akmal who can dig in and score some valuable runs when required (and of course hold on to most of the catches too).
The last two sessions on the third afternoon were nothing less than a dream for a Green fan. None could do no wrong. Well, we could have finished them a little earlier and won by an innings or Gul could have picked up a five-for in second innings as well but then let’s not be that greedy.
The failing Englishmen were as enjoyable to watch as their commentators who were in such shock that at times they just forgot to complete their sentences on air. The hypocrisy and bias in their commentary remained though and the clearest example was at the time of UDRS controversy on last day. Let me first clarify though that it was more of the U (umpire) in UDRS which was at fault at both occasions rather than the DRS itself. It was funny how many commentators at the time of Ajmal’s dismissal said “Well, it was inconclusive evidence” implying the third umpire couldn’t overturn the on-field umpire’s decision. And an hour or so later when Strauss was given out in a similar situation (with perhaps the absence of a nick even less clear as was in Ajmal’s case), the same pundits screamed “How can the umpire do that, when there is obviously inconclusive evidence”. Someone should have re-played their own words for them from an hour earlier …
Where England perhaps got it all wrong was the whole pre-match build up over Ajmal’s ‘Teesra’. They kept searching for his mystical new delivery … without realizing that Ajmal had probably meant, we’ll psych them out and finish them on ‘Teesra’ day!
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18 Responses to A Slap in the Face?
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LOL, I like the Teesra philosophy.
Murad
It was a great win for Pakistan but England was caught off guard.
England will come back hard and win the series 2-1.
A quick change from the last version of the Blog … Your comments won’t need to wait for moderation now once you are pre-approved. So only first comment will wait in a queue for a while (till I get around to seeing it) before appearing but after that is approved, from your second one on your comments will appear instantly …
Enjoy the discussions!
@ Andrew….. Personally i think the remaining 2 tests will be draws unless something spectacular is done by England. The reason I say this is as much as I give Misbah credit for turning Pakistan’s fortunes around, you will notice that the last series won are normally a best of 3 and Pakistan has won the series 1-0.
I would expect a very defensive approach from Pakistan in the next 2 tests as opposed to a fighting won to win the series with a bigger margin.
Needless to say, lets hope for a tough fought season.
On another note, as an English fan, could you answer one question that has always baffled me….. “Why is it that everytime England lose, against any opposition, the moaning about “alien conditions”, “wearing a loose shirt and suspect bowling action” etc come out……
Till recently the UAE had ideal conditions for most sports such as the Rugby 7′s (a huge success here in the UAE), Golf, Tennis in the winter months…… but in cricket all of a sudden the conditions are alien? Also Ajmal has been around for nearly 5 years now. Indeed his action was called in 2008 and subsequently cleared by the ICC…. It just leaves a bad taste in the mouth and makes England come across as sore losers.
yaaaaayyyyy, we are back!!!!!
I don’t support England.
I support India first and second whoever is playing against Pakistan.
Just like I believe you are supporting Australia right now?
England has become no1 side for a reason like India before that and wont lie down like your past series you won 1-0 over Sri Lanka or Bangladesh. You drew 1-1 to West Indies just last year remember? So how come England won’t come back 2-1.
Then you can bleed all the green you want, LOL.
Indeed. England became number 1 similar to like India did…….. PLAYING HOME SERIES AND WINNING!
Both teams are like faithful husbands….. they only perform at home!
Welcome to wellfielded dude.
What’s the score Andrew in Aus/Ind game? I didn’t get around to checking that :p
I see the India Pakistan rivalry is back on this blog already.
Ahmad,
Last time i checked it was 3-0 to Australia with a very strong possibility of going 4-0!
But Andrew wouldnt be keen to know that…. Its not a home series or the IPL! LOL :P
when you post your thoughts on the test match starting tomorrow please email me so I can come back and check. actually do that everytime for a new post please!!!!!!!
Rubina, would you like your grocery delivered to your doorstep as well? Perhaps house cleaned?? (only kidding! good to see you back)
Good to see you back.
Andrew/Amer,
I for one wanted India to win the series in Australia. It would have dragged Australia down in rankings and us winning series against England would have pushed us up into top 4 above Australia that way …
“zarorat k waqt to gadhe ko bhi baap banana perta hai”
“Team india = gadhe” by andrew the great
yes please :P
two cartons milk, one brown bread, some chocolates and vanilla baking mix for now will do.
woah, we are back in action !
Thanks