Pakistan minus Zulqarnain Haider ready to face in-form England
Despite losing the first two Tests within four days play, Pakistan is hopeful of showing some improved display of cricket when it meets England for its third Test at the Ovals. Pakistan will be without its new wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider, who batted brilliantly in the last Test. He has been ruled out from the rest of the tour after injuring his finger which was later confirmed to be fractured.
Haider is the highest scorer for Pakistan in the series currently underway. He sustained injury during the training session before the second Test against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 which was further aggravated when Stuart Broad threw the ball at him during the Edgbaston Test. It was an irresponsible and unsportsmanlike behavior on the part of Broad as Haider was not even intending to take the run. The ball struck Haider’s finger and further deteriorated his injury. Resultantly, Broad was fined 50% of his match fee while for Haider, it turned out to be more costly as he was certain to be selected for the Oval. Earlier, he had scored 88 in the second innings of the 2nd Test but now he is certain to miss the rest of the tour.
During Pakistan’s match against Worcester, Haider had complained of pain in his finger which was later confirmed by X-rays to be a minor fracture. He will now be returning to Pakistan as his tour has ended. This was also confirmed by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shafqat-Rana-c89305 who told reporters, “We are preparing to send him back in a few days.”
There are also reports that this incident has resulted in bad blood between England and Pakistan. However, Imran Farhat has tried to play down the significance of this incident and rebutted the claims of bad blood between both sides. He said, “Haider is still with us and is doing practice sessions while also wearing the keeping gloves. He was hit on the same finger twice and the pain was getting worse. After swelling appeared, he went for an X-ray and it turned out to be a hairline fracture. We are not sure if it was because of Broad, I am not blaming him."
Haider attended the team’s training camp at the Ovals but did not participate in any of the drills. His injury is blessing in disguise for Kamran Akmal who is now certain to return to the national side. This is the second time Akmal makes his comeback to the team. He was dropped after the Sydney Test but made his return at the Lord’s. He was also dropped from the Edgbaston Test.
On the other hand, England has made no changes in its squad for the 3rd Test. The English team is hoping to keep its juggernauts running and score third successive win against Pakistan. Commenting on the squad selection, Geoff Miller, England’s national selector said, “We were delighted with the way the team performed at Edgbaston. To put together dominant performances in back-to-back Test matches is a credit to the team's hard work but the key remains in consistency throughout the series.”
England’s Opener Alastair Cook has retained his place in the squad despite his recent poor performances. Cook scored less than 100 runs altogether in his last 10 innings. Even with such dismal record, the selectors have kept faith in him. Commenting on Cook, Miller said, “We back Cook to come through this tough patch he is currently experiencing. It is a challenging time for him but we know what he is like as a character - he is a battler and will battle his way through it.” It will be interesting to see how Cook responds to the faith shown in him by his selectors.
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