Pakistan beat England by four wickets in third Test
It really should have been easier than this. Pakistan had been coasting to victory in the third Test match against at the Oval.
But then a mixture of good bowling from Graeme Swann and James Anderson – and a panic attack from within the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 middle order – turned a regulation victory into a drama, and very nearly a crisis.
However, it was England’s season of success, which has taken in all formats of the game, that came to a halt. Their run of six successive Test victories was also broken with a four-wicket defeat to Pakistan in the third of their four-match series.
England started the day hoping for a last-wicket rearguard action to eke out a few more runs to a total that was looking vulnerable on a wicket that perhaps has had far fewer demons than some of the batting suggested. Pakistan ended all such thoughts with just the fourth ball of the morning session, Stuart Broad caught at mid-on with just one run added, giving Mohammad Amir a return of 5-52, as England went from 194 for three to 222 all out.
Set the fairly modest total of 148, England had an early success to revive their hopes when http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Yasir-Hameed-c2811 was out for a golden duck, caught by Swann off the bowling of Anderson. Imran Farhat (33) and Salman Butt (48), the captain, kept the scoreboard ticking over until the both fell to Swann but by lunch it was seemingly a hopeless cause with Pakistan needing just 33 more runs.
In the second session Anderson did his best to hold up one end, mainly bowling wide of the wicket, as Swann tried to weave some magic and there was a c***k of light when Azhar Ali was run out for five and Mohammad Yousuf then was out for 33, bowled by Anderson.
The tension was raised still further when Kamran Akmal was given out, lbw to Swann without scoring, which also claimed the batting’s side last review appeal.
But then Umar Akmal and Mohammad Amir limped Pakistan to a victory that puts them 2-1 down going into the final Test at Lord’s next week.
Strauss may be a gracious loser but it is not an aspect of his game that he wants to improve upon and instead urged his team to improve their performance for the next Test. "I was very pleased with the way we fought today, the wicket was quite unresponsive but the way Swanny and Jimmy bowled in particular was outstanding," he said. "We can't run away, we lost this game with the bat and we need to improve in that respect.
"We always knew Pakistan were a dangerous side but we've got to give a lot of credit to the way they have played in the last four days. We need to learn lessons and come back stronger at Lord's."
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