1st Test England v Pakistan, Lord's 14-18 July

[Dr Cricket]

How did Ball do? His figures look okay

he had a decent debut.
bowled well at time but probably needs to make the ball move more than he did to be more effective in the international game.

[backfootpunch]

Pakistan were famous for imploding at times but they look a good unit here.

Let's just hope England haven't underestimated them.

reckon they have really, actually thinking about it everyone kind of underestimated them really all summer or last summer people saying england should win 7-0 easily Sri lanka would be no test and pakistan would be better but still lose easily.

if anything the talk was that no one would turn up to watch the games and viewers will be down on sky.
The momentum did pick up during the past weeks because of pakistan impressive warm up games and the Amir story plus many people expecting a close series did help as well.

Might be wrong but think Arthur was predicting a 3-0 or 4-0 scoreline for England.

But would say it again Anderson the key bowler without him pakistan got a chance because they can score runs, with him playing getting 250 will tough work for pakistan which will not be enough to win games against england even with Yasir and Amir in the attack.

Really Anderson is the reason why england win so many games in england in recent times, not sure england can expect to whitewash team or thrash team consistently when he goes from the team and it should be much closer contest between england and the touring teams.

That statement doesn't do Stuart broad justice

He has won as many If not more tests for England than jimmy

The problem is Steven finn who has the most flattering record for any bowler ever, in his 30 or 40 tests has he ever actually won us a game with a big haul of wickets

Yet he has an excellent average and strike rate despite generally bowling terribly, his knack of picking up wickets despite bowling averagely should be a good thing or it would be if he did that then every other game bowled very well

He always seems to get a few cheap lower order wickets after jimmy and broad have done all the hard work

He is never the guy who puts his hand up and bowls the spell that defines the game

[Dr Cricket]

Did add Broad name in the earlier post.
England will miss Broad and Anderson big time really.
800 wickets between them.
650 or 700 as a pair incredible stats.

Very hard to replace a pair of bowlers like that.

[Aidan11]

Yes, our best new-ball pair in terms of wickets taken by a long stretch.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Taking the scores aside of each batsman, the worrying thing is there isnt a lot that makes me think England are a batting unit that are developing at all.

I thought Hales got a good ball. People will always moan at openers saying they have this weakness, that weakness, but facing the new ball if you get a fast bowler who moves the ball markedly in the air like that, you can forgive an opener edging a few as it comes with the job. I dont think technically he did much wrong.

Quite how Cook made 80 is beyond me. His head is all over the place, and so many times he ended up playing to balls he could leave. He edged the simplest of catches to the slips, and then twice in a following over edged short of the slips, and then wide of the slips, and was put down on a simple catch by the keeper. He got tonnes of freebies, but every time a Pakistan player got movement into him, he was lost.

Root played some majestic shots, but gave it away trying to hit Shah out of the attack.

Vince looked rubbish. He wanted to play everything off the back foot because he seemed unable to read Shah's variation, which was fine when Shah went short and he whipped him into the leg side, but he just didnt pick the flatter, straight one at all.

Ballance looked terrible. He nearly didnt get bat on his boundary to the leg side on 0, and then just missed a pretty poor stock ball. Cumbersome footwork, looks like he was walking in treacle....a decent test bowling attack on anything but a road will fancy their chances against him any day. For me, looks one of the worst technical cricketers England have picked in a long time.

I missed most of Bairstow, but his wicket was pretty poor. Should never be playing against the spin to balls on stump lines, no matter how much room you have given yourself..... a bad series against Shah, and are we seeing that evidence of his inability against spin again? Cant really say yet after one poor dismissal

Bairstow had about ten balls on the highlights and wafted at them like someone in a dream who knows he can't die. Which is maybe how his early season form makes him feel. Vince looks amazingly bad technically. The danger is writing him off, as Taylor, Woakes, Bairstow sort of were (the latter by me among others) when circumstances eventually give them a last chance to succeed that they take (though Taylor's career was sadly wrenched from him). I suppose those three players had the first class performances to back up their extended apprenticeship at international level.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Sorry, good post, I meant to say!

[KipperJohn]

From the bits I saw have to agree with sussex's summary of our batting.

Hopefully they aren't even thinking about winter tours and such like and concentrating on what's in front of them now.

Well done Woakes, Misbah and Yasir on getting on the honours boards today!

Can't understand why Woakes' batting should come to as any surprise to the pundits - he averages nearly 37 in FC cricket and has 9 100s and 18 50s. Stokes may have that 'wow' factor but Woakes is far more likely to be consistent - not to mention sensible.

[The Professor]

Starting to really worry about the poor shots which Root keeps on getting himself out to.

[backfootpunch]

Starting to really worry about the poor shots which Root keeps on getting himself out to.

He's wasting his form

[backfootpunch]

If the pitches in india are like the ones south africa had to play on we might need to pick 11 batsmen just so we don't get bowled out for double figures in every game

Maybe pick a bowling attack of four all rounders and root

Stokes, woakes, moeen and rashid

Batsmen from 1-11

[Arthur Crabtree]

Need to work out an attack of two pace bowlers, who have potential for reverse, and two spinners (one of whom can bowl long spells for few runs and build pressure). Plus a mystery spinner as a third might be useful.

[backfootpunch]

Need to work out an attack of two pace bowlers, who have potential for reverse, and two spinners (one of whom can bowl long spells for few runs and build pressure). Plus a mystery spinner as a third might be useful.

Jimmy
broad
moeen
rashid

Plus a slow left armer

Preferably an accurate one

As on those pitches just running up and bowling straight will be hard to play

[Arthur Crabtree]

A few punts are tempting. But England will probably go with A&B, plus one of Woakes or Stokes, plus Rashid and Mo.

[bigfluffylemon]

Some good analysis here, thanks all.

Why am I not surprised to see England in this situation? Never have been able to play decent spin. Of course the match is far from over, but with England batting last Pakistan are in the box seat.

[sussexpob]

I am not really thinking this is a spin bowling issue. I believe that only Vince showed a true technical problem against spin, because he decided to step back on his stumps and try to read the ball off the pitch, and that never ends well. When you cant pick a spinner from the hand, you are always game for the variation ball, and Vince didnt take that long to miss the straight one.

I think England are producing problems for themselves. Bairstow and Root both got out playing shots to Shah that were poor. Woakes had a go a couple of times and got lucky. Ali tried a sweep to a ball too short to do so.

Only Ballance and Vince got out trying to defend to Shah, and both have question marks technically to pace and spin. Ballance is the type of plant the foot type big and stocky batter, but doesnt have the quick hands to adapt to it. Maybe Vince is still nervous.

Ballance might become Bradman, but if Id never seen his FC average, id be inclined to think he was a tailender at time. I literally dont understand how he scored that many test and FC runs. He looks very inadequate