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Cricket IX


Jeor

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England have lost their last 11 wickets for just 89 runs, but the Morgan/Collingwood partnership in the first innings means that Pakistan going to be chasing at least 300 in the fourth innings. That's probably 100-150 runs too many for this batting line-up.

In the end it is probably closer to being about 250-300 runs too many after Prior's innings really took the game away from Pakistan. The form of England's top order is a bit worrying, though, Cook and Pietersen both look in very poor form.

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In the end it is probably closer to being about 250-300 runs too many after Prior's innings really took the game away from Pakistan. The form of England's top order is a bit worrying, though, Cook and Pietersen both look in very poor form.

I think Pietersen's place is still pretty much guaranteed at this stage so the next three tests can just be an exercise in trying to bat himself into some form for him. Cook on the other hand is really starting to get into danger of losing his place, if there was a clear replacement opener I think he'd be on his way out.

On the plus side Trott seems to have come though his difficult patch and looks to be batting quite well and Prior's hundred is a good reminder of how well he can bat.

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I think Pietersen's place is still pretty much guaranteed at this stage so the next three tests can just be an exercise in trying to bat himself into some form for him. Cook on the other hand is really starting to get into danger of losing his place, if there was a clear replacement opener I think he'd be on his way out.

Although England have been doing a good job of giving experience to a number of different bowlers, there aren't all that many batsmen with experience waiting in the wings. There is Ravi Bopara, but he has yet to actually produce a decent innings against a good bowling line-up and he wouldn't really be much of a replacement for either Cook or Pietersen.

I suppose Michael Carberry would be the next opener in line, after he opened against Bangladesh earlier in the year. I don't know how he's been doing in country cricket recently.

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Although England have been doing a good job of giving experience to a number of different bowlers, there aren't all that many batsmen with experience waiting in the wings. There is Ravi Bopara, but he has yet to actually produce a decent innings against a good bowling line-up and he wouldn't really be much of a replacement for either Cook or Pietersen.

I suppose Michael Carberry would be the next opener in line, after he opened against Bangladesh earlier in the year. I don't know how he's been doing in country cricket recently.

I think there's a decent amount of competition in the middle order with Bell, Morgan and Bopara all competing for one place at the moment. I still think Bopara is a very good player and apparently he's doing all he can to force his way back into the reckoning so that's pretty encouraging. The problem is that, as you say, none of them are particularly viable replacements for Cook, maybe Carberry is next in line or Trott might be able to move up to opener if required.

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The problem is that, as you say, none of them are particularly viable replacements for Cook, maybe Carberry is next in line or Trott might be able to move up to opener if required.

Trott could work, potentially, but I think he is best at number 3, and I'm not sure there's a good replacement for number 3 either - it would probably be Bell that would go in at number 3 and he might do better than before given another chance there, but he does seem happier batting at 5 or 6.

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Prior's just missed a regulation take and it's gone down for four byes...I know the ball's swinging, but with Akmal and Prior keeping, we're not exactly getting a masterclass on wicketkeeping ability. Hankering for the old days I guess when Ian Healy's glovework and 30 average were more than enough to secure his place in the side! The poor wicketkeeping specialist is gone for good, I think.

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All out for 80 :stillsick:. Someone from the PCB should buy two plane tickets and start begging Yousuf and Younis to come to England.

Yes....this is very bad. It's never a good thing when you're Number 8 and 9 (Amir and Gul) are your best batsmen in the match. What makes it doubly frustrating is that Pakistan have a lethal bowling attack - even with a completely misfiring spinner (Kaneria) they shot England out cheaply in the second innings and with some better fielding would have done the same in the first.

Political as it is, I doubt Younis or Yousuf will get back in. In some way that might actually be strength from the board to stick with a decision for once, although in this case, I think they've made the wrong choice. But it's a four Test series so they're going to have to find some way to get a score otherwise it's going to be a very humiliating series.

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Political as it is, I doubt Younis or Yousuf will get back in. In some way that might actually be strength from the board to stick with a decision for once, although in this case, I think they've made the wrong choice. But it's a four Test series so they're going to have to find some way to get a score otherwise it's going to be a very humiliating series.

Well, they've already reneged on part of the decision, since Younis' ban was overturned some time ago. Yousuf's ban is still in place AFAIK, but he has indicated that he wants to play for Pakistan again and would so under any captain. Overall though, I agree that it's very unlikely that we are going to see either of them on this tour - Waqar Younis has pretty much ruled it out on a number of occasions, including at the close of yesterday's play.

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:lol:. Well, as usual, I couldn't have been more wrong. And if either of them were going to get called up, I expected it to be Younis!

It's always risky to try to predict the actions of the Pakistan selectors, they'll always find a way to surprise you ;)

I see they've also dropped Kaneira from the Test squad and replaced him with an 18-year old who has played a grand total of 2 First-class matches in his career, even for Pakistan he seems a bit inexperience, although I guess Ajmal will be the spinner in the next match anyway.

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And the plot has thickened with Salman Butt clearly displaying his indifference (maybe even reluctance) to having either Yousuf or Younis back in the team:

Butt said "Having seen the past results can anybody over here tell me how many wins Pakistan had with the people who were previously playing?” as he answered a question on the return of Yousuf and Younis to the national fold.

As for whether Younis Khan will make a re-appearance, rumour has it that he is on poor terms with Ijaz Butt (the head of the PCB) and thus won't be considered for selection.

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And the plot has thickened with Salman Butt clearly displaying his indifference (maybe even reluctance) to having either Yousuf or Younis back in the team:

As for whether Younis Khan will make a re-appearance, rumour has it that he is on poor terms with Ijaz Butt (the head of the PCB) and thus won't be considered for selection.

Well, Yousuf's reappearance should at least strengthen the batting a bit, although it would probably be too much to expect that he'd single-handedly right the ship with a few centuries here and there. ;)

I think they dropped Kaneria too soon. Sure, he was absolutely hopeless in this Test, but he deserved at least one more match to show himself. They're low on experience and while he didn't show it, they could still use him. In truth, it's not like they have that much to lose by keeping him in; the problem is with the batting. At least he'll get some county cricket so he should be able to bowl himself back into contention for the last half of the series.

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