Pakistan v England 1st test, Abu Dhabi Oct 13-17

[Aidan11]

I'm gonna go for 380 all out tomorrow.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Bell is a quality fielder, but never been too convinced by him at slip.

[backfootpunch]

Who escaped the second one? Was at work after tea.

it was shafiq in the penultimate over

was easier than the first too

[The Professor]

I'd put Wood on early doors tomorrow...tell him to pace it and beta few early doors.

If Finn is heading home with his injury who you replacing him with ....Footit? Willey? Topley?

I'd go Willey every time.

[Arthur Crabtree]

If Finn goes home (I didn't know he was going to) wouldn't they just pick from the squad. Surely the only reason they took six pace bowlers is so they wouldn't have to acclimatise anyone during the series, given the heat. Surely Plunkett just wears Finn's bib.

If they have to call someone, I bet they'll ask one of the ODI players to arrive early, maybe Jordan. Willey feels a long way from a Test call up.

[The Professor]

The footage I've seen of him he looks fairly cricked.

[Arthur Crabtree]

I thought he was in the ODI squad. But he's not, just the T20. Chris Woakes? Topley won't be called up, and it feels they went cold on Footitt.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Kudos to Shoaib for batting all day in that heat.

[backfootpunch]

I'd put Wood on early doors tomorrow...tell him to pace it and beta few early doors.

If Finn is heading home with his injury who you replacing him with ....Footit? Willey? Topley?

I'd go Willey every time.

wood and jimmy at the start and get ian bell out of the slips for the love of god

surely dropping these catches is lowering his confidence even more

[Arthur Crabtree]

I think it was mentioned to the press that Bayliss was impressed with Bell's slip work on the trip to Spain, after he'd missed a catch in the summer.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Most of the stuff I'm reading suggests Misbah was a bit unlucky. Not for MPV on the radio though.

[Aidan11]

42 tests since Malik last played.

It's like he's never been away.

[Aidan11]

Despite his two easy drops yesterday I hope Bell still has a future in the team albeit a short one.

[Arthur Crabtree]

He's not going to be dropped for his slip catching.

Catches do go down. Justing saying to the press that catches are crucial doesn't change that.

It's tempting to look for a unifying cause, the drops (missed some in the summer, and took some) and the diminishing run scoring. Is he fading as a batter, losing his reactions and his eyes? Has he been worn down by Flower and Moores? Would he prefer just to be playing out his time with his county, road weary with England?

[mikesiva]

Pakistan have an impressive-looking, experienced batting lineup...Mohammed Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan, Misbah.