Pakistan must be at their very best to beat England: Salman Butt
If one goes down the memory lane, one finds out that Pakistan has always done well against England in England. Captains like Imran Khan in 1987, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wasim-Akram-c96292 in 1996 and Waqar Younis in 2001 beat the hosts in Test matches by losing less and winning more.
While Waqar Younis’s side drew the two-match series 1-1, the others took the series and proved to the world that the English were beatable at home. All the players to lead http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 to series wins in England had one thing in common - they loved to play for their country, had good knowledge of English conditions due to their stints with counties and never underestimated the opponents. Sadly, the current Pakistan side has nothing to boast of. Their captain Salman Butt is not a test regular himself, the side has no player with worthy county experience, and Pakistani players have learnt nothing from the past where they took the opponents anything but seriously.
During Pakistan’s tour of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 last season, Salman Butt criticized Australia’s first-choice spinner Nathan Hauritz, terming him to be a mediocre bowler if compared to their very own Saeed Ajmal. Ironically, Saeed Ajmal played just one match throughout the series while Hauritz finished the series with more than a dozen wickets.
Newly appointed skipper Salman Butt has started off the series with quite a similar statement. He has termed his pacers as the best in the world. Such comments before a series are not only condemnable but ridiculous because unlike the Aussies, the English players are born and raised in English conditions. They know how to play if the wicket is seaming and what to do when the going gets tough. But Pakistan’s captain doesn’t understand that theory as he thinks that his bowlers can recreate the magic of the Leeds test and win the matches against England. He is likely to be proven wrong because the Pakistani trio of Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif forget their line and length when the conditions desert them. If the conditions are suitable, they outclass the opposition, in unsuitable conditions, they look like a third-class bowler attack as against their world-class status. The second innings of both the Lord’s and Leeds test are clear proof of that where they failed to make the ball move, and where the wickets they largely resulted due to errors by the Australian batsmen than their own efforts.
If both the teams are compared, England comes out as the better side both on paper and on the field. Unlike the Pakistanis, the English have matured over the last few years. Their players have performed well consistently unlike the tourists who have not been able to win more than a couple of test matches since their last tour to England in 2006. Out of their squad, only Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Kamran Akmal, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Danish-Kaneria-c1314, Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul have played test cricket in England. Sadly, Salman Butt and Imran Farhat’s pair was the worst tried opening pair in 2006, and the only time Pakistan had a century stand last time around was when Mohammad Hafeez was inducted into the final XI at the expense of the current skipper.
Pakistan will miss the services of Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan who were the stars in 2006. While Yousuf scored 631 runs with the help of 3 centuries including a double ton in the 4 matches, Younis Khan’s 329 runs came in 3 matches with the help of a century and a half century. Umar Gul took a five for in 2006 while Asif garnered 5 wickets in his only Test appearance. They might want to improve their performance but that seems only likely if they are supported by their batsmen.
England on the other hand has a bowling attack that the tourists have never faced. Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Graeme Swann and Tim Bresnan will look to add to their tally of wickets when England takes to the field tomorrow, while Andrew Strauss (444 runs in 4 matches), Alistair Cook (403 runs in 4 matches), Kevin Pietersen (347 runs in 4 matches) and Paul Collingwood (324 runs in 4 matches) will be hoping to belt the Pakistan pace attack all over the park, just like they did four years back!
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