Eng vs. Pak- 4th test: Pakistan’s preparations
Pakistan takes on England in the 4th and final test match of the series at Lords on Thursday. England leads the series 2-1. The first 2 tests had been one sided, and it was expected that England would wrap up the series at Oval but the unpredictable Pakistan team made a remarkable comeback in the 3rd test and kept the series alive. They were made to work hard for it and won the match by 4 wickets in the end. Once again, it was the bowling attack that came good while batting line up also did the job in the first innings to some degree but the target of 148 tested them right till the end of 2nd innings. The most important thing, however, is that Pakistan is still alive and has a great chance of leveling the series.
The interesting thing about 3rd test was the remarkable debut by left arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz. The pacer got his chance because Umar Gul had been ruled out due to a Hamstring injury. Riaz showed his immense potential and was not overawed by the situation. He took 5 wickets and set the match for Pakistan in the very first session. The http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 team’s manager Yawar Saeed has announced that there would be no changes in the team for the final test. This means that Gul has failed to recover in time, and saved the tour selection party the headache of deciding who to drop as the fast bowling trio of Muhammad Aamer, Muhammad Asif and Wahab Riaz had performed well in the 3rd test.
The 3rd test did see Pakistan’s middle order stabilized by the return of veteran batsman Muhammad Yousuf. The right hander showed his experience and class during the first innings, and with a half century did give a sense of calm in an otherwise hap hazard Pakistani middle order. He would be expected to deliver the goods once again, as he has been called back from retirement to guide the young players in the side. Umar Akmal, the man who was tipped to be the next best thing in Pakistan cricket, also showed some resilience in the 3rd test. He was looking good in the first innings before an unfortunate run out spelled the end for him, while in the 2ndinnings, he showed some determination to guide the team home. The final test may be the time for him to finally come good on tour in the longer format. Salman Butt, the new captain has been struggling for runs ever since taking over the reins. Oval was the first time he managed to get into double figures. He had been averaging just 4 before that in the series.
At present, the bowling department is the least of worries for Pakistan team as Asif, Aamer and Wahab are expected to make good use of the Lord’s slope. However, just 2 out of these 3 have played before at the venue, Asif had play there during the last tour while Aamer played there against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746. Wahab would be using the slope at the home of cricket for the first time. Salman Butt told reporters that he has a lot of confidence in his pace attack and expects the bowlers to use the conditions well. Saeed Ajmal, on the other hand may once again come into play on 3rd and 4th day when the pitch starts to break. The off spinner with 4 wickets in the 2nd innings at Oval proved that he has what it takes to make it in the longest format of the game. He was earlier believed to be a one day bowler, but now for sure he has wiped away all those tags.
So there it is, Pakistan have a relatively simple task ahead of them, more of the same is the cry from team management. But it would not be as simple as that. England also look determined to win the series and would not make things any easier for the visitors.
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