Oval Test exposes England’s weaknesses before the Ashes
Despite valiant efforts at the end by England, The Oval Test was a reality check for England before the Ashes series in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/A-Young-c41367 Pakistan side under a new captain, Salman Butt, was able to humble Andrew Strauss and his men on a venue which is considered a fortress of English cricket. It was negligence on behalf of the batsmen and some sloppy fielding which cost England this match. The bowlers did their part and even late burst from Anderson and Swann kept the match evenly poised just before the end. But even the likes of Anderson and Swann were hard pressed to defend a marginal target of 148.
England’s batting line-up has repeatedly been vulnerable to collapses, as it has collapsed in all three Tests of the series. Losses of six for 17, seven for 46, and now seven for 28, only displayed the fragility of England’s batting. Even their top-order is a culprit of batting collapses, except in Edgbaston where Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott developed a partnership of 111 runs to record a comprehensive nine-wicket victory. It can be said that this has been a bowlers’ series with both team’s bowlers performing consistently throughout the series. As far as batting credentials are concerned, Pakistan’http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s batting order. Despite frequent batting collapses, Pakistan’s batsmen have the privilege to record some of the highest scores of the Test series. First it was Zulqarnain Haider’s 88 and now Azhar Ali’s defiant knock of 92.
On the other hand, England’s batsmen have also failed miserably. They even failed to capitalise in their home conditions, with the exception of the first innings at Trent Bridge, they scored nominal scores of 251, 233 and 222 which is disappointing by any standard. Commenting on his side’s batting fragility, England’s captain said, “None of us like losing, I certainly don't, so it's a bit of a kick in the teeth every time you lose a Test match. We were outplayed. We lost five wickets in the first session of the game and then yesterday afternoon we lost more than five wickets”. However, Strauss is optimistic about the future and believes that his team has enough depth and quality to sustain pressure in future. He said, “We need to make sure it doesn't happen again, and that we learn the lessons, because if you keep doing that then you're putting yourself under pressure unnecessarily, especially when it's the top order”.
England’s batsmen have failed to produce collective performances, whereas they have individually played some fine knocks at crucial junctures. Eoin Morgan and Paul Collingwood’s partnership enabled England to win opening the Test at Trent Bridge. Matt Prior played some crucial innings while Cook returned to form with a century under tense circumstances at The Oval. Strauss believes that his team has quality players which can change the course of the match at any moment. He said, “If you're asking: 'Are we bad players?' then I don't think that's true. We just haven't batted well in this game”. One worrying factor for England is the form of their key player and anchor of their batting line-up i.e. Kevin Pieterson. Pieterson has failed to score a single century in his last 25 innings and his form is definitely a worrying point for England before the Ashes series.
On factor which can be attributed to England’s dismal batting form is brilliant bowling by Pakistani bowlers under Waqar Younis’s coaching. Commenting on Pakistan’s bowling unit, Strauss said, “It's not my business to talk up the opposition”. It is fact that England’s batsmen have failed to cope with Amir’s pace, Asif’s swing and, Saeed Ajmal’s doosra. But if this is the state of their batting at their home then England can expect a tough time from Australian bowlers.
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