Cricket news - http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Salman-c88163 Butts war plan
Salman Butt and his team need to sit down and ponder over what went wrong after a dramatic start where Mohammad Amir managed to take 4 early wickets and later on, taking two more wickets to bundle up England for an unimpressive score of 102 for 7 and England seemed all ready for a batting collapse till Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad began the knock of their lives to what could be a change in fortune at Lords on day 2. The dramatic partnership of Broad and Trott, followed by the maiden test century of the bowler who was involved in much controversy earlier in the series and a classic knock from Trott ensured that they give http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 much to worry about.
Pakistan after the splendid display of bowling by Mohammad Amir, found themselves in a commanding position, however complacency amongst the ranks that has resulted in the team, seemingly helpless against Stuart Broad and Trott. Stuart Broad has all the capabilities of becoming a world-class all rounder but for him to score his maiden century at Pakistan’s expense, when the England batting line up was destined for a collapse is a remarkable comeback for England. One that could bring misery to Pakistan. England are here to win at Lords, however Pakistan needs to win. There is a difference of priorities and Pakistan needs to play with the same attitude. Do or die.
Pakistan does not have an option here. Salman Butt needs to understand the complexity of the situation here, where nothing less than an extra-ordinary effort would be required for his team to make any strong impact on the English side, who have built a strong lead of 346 runs with still 3 wickets in hand. If England can post a score in excess of 400 runs, Pakistani team will find themselves knee-deep in murky waters. With the batting line up of Pakistan highly susceptible to a collapse, which has been witnessed in the first couple of tests of the series Salman Butt now needs to wear his thinking cap and reshape his strategy.
Wahab Riaz has shown some potential as far batting is concerned, scoring 27 runs when he was sent as a night watchmen and staying on the crease for a good period of time. If the Pakistan side lose wickets early on, then they should keep the option open of sending Wahab Riaz in at number 3. The pitch has worn down considerably and with the passage of time, it has gone flat, which means that there is little movement. The odds that were initially in Pakistan’s favour might have turned against them but Pakistan still have a chance provided their batting order does not let them down.
Imran Farhat and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Yasir-Hameed-c2811 need to make a good opening partnership of at least a hundred odd runs before either Salman Butt or Wahab Riaz is sent to bat. Pakistan still has a fair chance of winning this test-match with their bowling attack, provided the batsmen do their job and score a total in excess of 400 runs. If the top order collapses early on, then Pakistan would find themselves in a tricky situation.
The Akmal brothers, have a lot to prove in this particular match. They have failed to make their mark in the last three tests, and this would be their opportunity to silence the critics. If the Akmal brothers fail to find their form in this test, than they need to be given some rest and Zulqarnain Haider needs to be brought back into the side.
Pakistan’s fielding was also not very impressive with dropped catches and miss-fields, which is something that they cannot afford at this stage. Every single run matters and Salman Butt needs to know this. Maybe the decision of not playing five bowlers have worked against Pakistan, since they have not truly been able to exploit a bowling pitch in the first two days and England has made a remarkable comeback. Salman and his lads need to wear their thinking caps for the judgement day is drawing near and Pakistan needs to win this test.
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