Tim Paine confident of winning the Lord’s Test
Pakistan’s in experienced batting squad is fighting hard for a record run-chase at the Lord’s cricket ground but the Ashes favourites, Ponting’s men are confident of stopping them. The wicketkeeper said that a couple of early wickets on the fourth day would mean a game in Australia’s favour.
"If we bowl well there's enough there for us to keep them under pressure and create those chances to win the game. If we can get a couple of early wickets tomorrow and get stuck in to their middle and lower order, as we showed in the first innings if we put them under pressure we can take wickets pretty quickly," wicketkeeper Tim Paine said.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JP-Duminy-c1742 changed the Australian acuity about gettable targets of fourth-innings. Right after two summers, Australia has once again set a parallel target at the ‘home of cricket’ but this time Ponting and his men are confident of winning the game as Pakistan’s batting line-up does not have AB de Villiers or JP Duminy clones - though they have two newcomers, Azhar Ali and Umar Amin, like Duminy was at Perth.
Today http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 will enter the Lord’s ground full of hopes, facing 326 runs lead with its nine wickets remaining, and two of its batsmen, opener Salman Butt and the debutant Azhar Ali, well set against the Australian attack. Mostly the teams chasing such big targets look for the prospects of rain but this has never been the case with the Pakistan side. Friday’s fourth day would most probably be the final day of the game and the weather can play a major role in the final results of the game. The “home” dressing room would definitely pray for sunny skies as it was by the end of the third day, as a cloudless sky would mean no swing in the ball. Yet looking at the capitulation of Pakistan for 48 in the first innings, mighty Aussies are confident that they would wrap up Pakistan even under cloudless skies.
Though Jason Krejza is no more in the side but Steven Smith, Jason’s replacement, is equally hard-nosed, and has opened Test wicket account taking Imran Farhat’s wicket yesterday.
Smith’s fellow test debutant, Tim Paine praised his first spell of test bowling and is expecting the spinner to play a key role in the Friday’s game. Australia’s spin bowling great Shane Warne also hauled Smith’s performance from the commentary box as he said, "For his first Test match there's a lot to like."
Paine said that the spinner looked remarkable with the ball, he started magnificently and with the spell going on, he became more dangerous. Paine said that if the pacers brought some early breakthroughs for the team, Smith can be troublesome for the middle and lower order later on. However the first session of the day four would start with Australian seamer and a cloudy morning may leave no silver line for Pakistan.
Pakistan on the other hand would heavily rely on the opener standing on the crease with his fifty up and has been the most composed batsman of Pakistan side in the five day game. The newcomers, Azhar Ali and Umar Amin would also be keen to prove themselves to make the next six test squads during the tour of England. Umar Akmal, with an average exceeding 40, would also be Pakistan’s hope on the day four.
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