England confident of teaching Pakistan a lesson
Six months ago, after going through a humiliating drubbing at the hands of Australia down under, Pakistan cricket was at its lowest ebb. After the PCB showed its typical wisdom by banning Yousuf and Younis, the affairs of Pakistan cricket couldn’t get worse. But still, Pakistan kept its tradition of unpredictability alive as they defeated Australia in the second Test match at Leeds for the first time in 15 years.
Pakistan has a plethora of talent but they are equally undisciplined. They produce wonder kids in the form of Mohammad Aamer, who are compared to the likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wasim-Akram-c96292, but they still fail to convert easy situations into wins such as the Sydney Test in Australia. With such unpredictable opponents, England could expect anything in the upcoming Test series, starting with first Test at Trent Bridge. England’s captain Andrew Strauss is fully aware of Pakistan’s potential. Talking to reporters before the match, Strauss said, “You know that Pakistan are unlikely to be on their game for the full five days of a Test match, and if you can make sure you can play consistent cricket, I think that gives you an advantage. They have a good varied bowling attack, but I don't think it's our job to overly hype the opposition.”
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 will be coming into this series after spending quite a reasonable amount of time in England and playing two Tests against Australia. With Pakistani fast bowlers enjoying English conditions, they can easily trouble the hosts in the upcoming Test series. Pakistan’s new captain Salman Butt is optimistic about his side’s chances against England. Talking about the environment, 25 year-old Butt said, “I think it was very good to start the tour having played such a good side in the conditions. The local community and the local people from this country have all supported us and we are very thankful for this 'homely' atmosphere, though this is not home. Our side is very young, with limited experience, so it is good for us.”
It seems that the Trent Bridge Test will be a battle of the bowlers who will mould the fate of this match. On paper, Pakistan has a relatively stronger bowling unit in the form of Aamer's pace and swing, perfectly supplemented by Mohammad Asif's seam bowling and the old ball’s reverse-swing by Umar Gul. On the other hand, England has its own strengths in the bowling department. Stuart Broad is in awesome form after taking a career-best figures of 8 for 52 against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746. Jimmy Anderson is another veteran campaigner. Talking about Anderson, the English skipper said, “Jimmy Anderson is under some pressure, as we all are. We want healthy competition in the ranks, and it would be wrong ever to assume that your place in the side is cast in stone. I think we have got a fair amount of competition.”
England is hoping that this series will provide them with ample preparation for the Ashes series later this year. Commenting about Ponting’s decision to bat first at Headingley, Strauss criticised the decision when he said, “My first thought was that it just proved I should have bowled first at Headingley last year. We had an interest in that series but it wasn't a close interest, because it's not that relevant right at the moment for us.” He further added, “It was relevant to have a look at the Pakistani bowlers and how they were looking to bowl at right- and left-handers for instance, but as far as Australia is concerned, I still think that's something that's a little bit down the road. We don't need to be side-tracked by that at this moment.”
It will be interesting to see both sides fight at Trent Bridge. Salman Butt will be hoping to keep his team’s winning momentum going whereas Andrew Strauss will be interested in making an example out of Pakistan as they complete their preparation for the upcoming Ashes series against Australia.
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