England look for turnaround after Oval loss: England v http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755, 4th Test, preview
The Match
England play Pakistan in the fourth Test match of the series at the Lord’s. England leads the series 2-1 after the Pakistan side pulled one back at the Oval. Pakistan’s heroes were Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Aamer and some good, solid batting by Mohammad Yousuf. For England, the bowlers fought well, but the batsmen proved to be a letdown, something that had been the case with Pakistan in the first two Test matches.
The Pitch
Lord’s will assist the bowlers to begin with, but they need to beware of the famous slope at Lord’s. This slope makes bowling difficult for those who are not used to it and hence the Pakistani bowlers will do well to train harder. Otherwise, the track should offer a bit of everything for everyone and one can expect a result on this track. The last four games on this pitch have all been result-oriented, but these four had been preceded by seven successive draws.
Pakistan
Pakistan batted much better in the previous game, and to add to that, their fielding was also excellent. The batting was bolstered by the inclusion of Mohammad Yousuf who scored a fifty, and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Yasir-Hameed-c2811, who batted freely in the first innings and did not allow the bowlers to settle down. Imran Farhat and Salman Butt will do well to take a cue from his batting and not get stuck with a low strike-rate.
Wahab Riaz’s inclusion in the squad has often been criticised, but he proved that he was not there to fill up the numbers. Riaz’s five-wicket haul should give him and his side the confidence to run through the opposition once again.
The Playing Eleven
Farhat, Hameed, Butt, Ali, Umar Akmal, Yousuf, Kamran Akmal, Riaz, Ajmal, Asif, Aamer
Players to watch out for
One gets the sense that the batting will be tested again, and it will need at least one of the top-order players to score a century. Umar Akmal could be the player to watch out for.
England
The batting was a letdown for the English. Alastair Cook may be heaving a sigh of relief with that century, but the others batted like novices at the Oval. Eoin Morgan, Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen need to get a big score under their belt, not only from the team’s perspective but also given that this will be the last game before they get to the Ashes. Andrew Strauss could also lead from the front and get a big one at the top.
The bowling gelled well for England, as it has done throughout the summer, but they need more of a buffer in the form of runs.
The Playing Eleven
Cook, Strauss, Pietersen, Trott, Morgan, Collingwood, Prior, Anderson, Broad, Swann, Finn
Players to watch out for
Ricky Ponting has fired a salvo at Morgan and spoken about how difficult it would be for him to get selected for the Ashes. One will like to see how Morgan reacts to this and takes on the Pakistani bowling.
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