Eng in Pak, Oct 7-28

[andy]

Even if can get a wicket dosent get any easier with Babar in next...

[bigfluffylemon]

And why oh why do we keep picking Woakes for tours?

[sussexpob]

Field doesn't make any sense either. Shan has hit short balls infront of square to the leg side, but anything full he is attacking by opening the face into the offside behind square. Either he gets it right and it runs to third man, or he mis-times it and it goes between point and cover... he has, at no stage, hit any drives between cover/extra cover or mid-off, yet England have a full cover field in the off-side. Needs to bring in a backward point, move the cover fielder squarer, and take the extra cover out and get him in a catch position, as Shan has 2-3 times put it in the air

[sussexpob]

Just as I type that Shafique chips one to Pope in the point region.... very poor shot, was there to be hit but he just didn't get his weight into the shot and was hanging back.... ball went in air, and this time Pope makes no error.

[sussexpob]

Field doesn't make any sense either. Shan has hit short balls infront of square to the leg side, but anything full he is attacking by opening the face into the offside behind square. Either he gets it right and it runs to third man, or he mis-times it and it goes between point and cover... he has, at no stage, hit any drives between cover/extra cover or mid-off, yet England have a full cover field in the off-side. Needs to bring in a backward point, move the cover fielder squarer, and take the extra cover out and get him in a catch position, as Shan has 2-3 times put it in the air

Hed have been out then with a man at backward point....

[sussexpob]

Well done Jack Leach. Kept it tight, Shan wanted to go after everything, and eventually he forces the error. Was a touch too short to hit back down the pitch, can't get on top of it and keep it down, sharp return catch by the bowler.

England have a couple of breakthroughs.... Leach showing the way to bowl on this deck, keep it tight and let the batter make an error.

[andy]

Saim ayub will be fuming.. absolute road everyone around him making runs and he got strangled out

[Arthur Crabtree]

Presume as it's in Pakistan they will struggle to get a full day in.

[andy]

Shakeel looking good again.... averages 56 for a reason...this batting line up is stacked....just needs confidence

[sussexpob]

Saim ayub will be fuming.. absolute road everyone around him making runs and he got strangled out

Easy to say the pitch is flat when Bashir is bowling long hops or half volley's 1 meter outside leg stump. Or Carse is bowling 4 meters over the batsman's head. The only period of the game where England have bowled tight, they forced errors. The ball hasn't done a lot, but you get the feeling its got some two paced nature to it, so timing shots with the old ball has been quite difficult.

[andy]

It's still a good pitch for batting though...500 is a must you would have thought

[sussexpob]

It's still a good pitch for batting though...500 is a must you would have thought

As I said, I think its hard to judge personally. Pakistan punished a lot of poor bowling, and maybe manufactured a few shots when the line went wrong but it was a good length to hit, but when the length is correct or slightly uppish, none of the Pakistan batters have been able to get on top of the ball that easily. Its one of those pitches that feels easy to stay in on, but not easy to play shots on... the fact Pakistan were able to fly off was down to England's absolutely abject effort with the ball. Old ball won't get value on scoring also, Shakeel's shot down the pitch then should really have gone for 4 but landed and crawled.

[sussexpob]

Bashir is a good example in this spell. Everytime he gets the ball anywhere near a decent line and length, it appears like the ball is gripping, and he just got one to fly past the edge.... and yet for every ball like that, there are 23 others that are down the leg side, too wide, too full.

His last ball literally just went straight to leg slip on the bounce.

Bashir has been incredibly erratic today.

[sussexpob]

One thing I would say as well when England commentators or selectors always advocate quicker bowlers are more worthwhile on these types of decks..... maybe that might be the case on lifeless wickets in Northampton in late September when its 14 degrees, but how has Brydon Carse's action man 40 mile run up and high effort delivery style faired in these conditions?

Well, lets just by his 6th over I thought he was about to collapse mid-run up, his face is beetroot red, and his pace at some stages was down into the high 70s/early 80s.

So yeah, in 38 degree heat, high dew point and a hazy, humid morning, your big strapping "buy's a wicket" type superman throwing down Thor's hammer actually turns into a county trundler after 20 minutes of bowling.

[andy]

Not sure I agree with pope taking new ball here...would have waited till the morning