*Official* Pakistan in England and Ireland 2016

[grecian]

Pakistan appear to have a theory that short wide balls are one of his weaknesses.

it's a tricky one though we all know that outside off-stump is a weakness, but pitching it up is the thing. People talk as if it should be easy for bowlers to do this, but it obviously isn't.

Yet, also, Cook is clearly trying to be more aggressive,

I'm tempted by that 10-1 TBH, batting line-up is so brittle.

 

[GIMH]

Not sure anyone has said this before, but the first session is key

 

[91Jmay]

Yeah Pakistan are no way out of this. 2 early wickets and we are essentially 30-2.

 

[GIMH]

Yeah Pakistan are no way out of this. 2 early wickets and we are essentially 30-2.

Yeah to me it's even, being that many for nought overnight obviously gives you the feeling as if you're starting 16-0 but we've all watched many third innings where it's not unfolded that way. Cracking test match. My money is on us objectively but I'm bricking it in reality.

 

[Pothas]

*Buxton Drinks Break

Harrogate Hydration break actually.

Today was a lot of fun. Edgbaston is just a great place to watch cricket.

 

[Pothas]

Yeah to me it's even, being that many for nought overnight obviously gives you the feeling as if you're starting 16-0 but we've all watched many third innings where it's not unfolded that way. Cracking test match. My money is on us objectively but I'm bricking it in reality.

Draw is a very good chance as well.

 

[91Jmay]

Younis slow ton on the 4th day to secure a draw. Might stick a few bob on that. I don't gamble but can anyone tell the best odds I can get for that?

 

[Adders]

100 run opening partnership and this will be a sensational finish to the Test IMO. Beautifully poised.

Nice call Furball.

 

[Zinzan]

Yeah Pakistan are no way out of this. 2 early wickets and we are essentially 30-2.

Depends, what was their body language like towards the end of the day as England were catching up?

 

[91Jmay]

It wasn't good body language, Wasim mentioned it on the Verdict. However Cook is a crap overnight starter, Hales is always a nick off risk on 1 or 91 so a couple of early wickets is still very believable. I also think Amir has bowled without reward so far and is due a 3 for 10 type spell. The pitch is the thing that may make England feel most confident.

 

[Cabinet96]

it's a tricky one though we all know that outside off-stump is a weakness, but pitching it up is the thing. People talk as if it should be easy for bowlers to do this, but it obviously isn't.

When he was going through his rut a lot of people were saying he'd been found out, and that he'd never get short deliveries or balls on his pads ever again. They seemingly forgot that bowlers sometimes bowl bad balls and always will.

Biggest thing I've noticed with Cook this series is the number of good drives he's played.

 

[Adders]

Jarrod Kimber: Steven Finn fights a losing battle with his demons | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo

Pretty good piece by Kimber on Finns mental battle.

I'm at a loss to know what to do with him now. Such a talent and for a long time I've thought he was really worth persevering with as he was our best hope moving on post Jimmy. Now I'm just not sure he has it upstairs to be the bowler that he is capable of being. Reminds me a a bit of Mitch tbh.

Is he done or is there a corner he can turn somewhere down the road??

 

[Daemon]

He bowled quite alright towards the end of the innings tbf

 

[Adders]

He bowled quite alright towards the end of the innings tbf

Yeah, I only watched the first session and a half but from all accounts he did tidy it up later in the day and could have had a wicket if Cook didn't spill one.

But that's the thing, when he's on his game he'll still serve up some filth but mixed up with some genuine unplayable stuff. This whole summer he's pretty much been "alright" but getting nowhere near his ceiling.......definitely behind Woakes, Wood and probably Ball now when he really should be front of that queue.

Dunno, I've been a fan for a long time now and kept the belief that he'll get there, but I'm starting to lose hope........from an England POV at least our options are looking pretty good atm so if he does fall off the grid it's not a disaster, it's not that long ago that that wasn't the case and we desperately needed him to step up.

 

[91Jmay]

I think Woakes/Broad/Anderson is the first choice 3 now, with Stokes as the 4th and a spinner as the 5th. Wood should be ahead of Finn with Ball/Plunkett/Finn fighting out for next spot. Not bad depth to be fair.

 

[Adders]

Awta.

 

[Black_Warrior]

At the start of this series everyone thought it would be Pakistan's batting that would let them down and be the major concern towards a series loss. The batting, while not excellent by any means and still with the best batsman horribly out of nick, has managed to score 300 plus 2 out of 3 matches. It's the bowling, particularly the seam attack that has let them down more in this series and might ultimately be the reason they lose this series.

Pakistan have never had great exponents of the new ball. Wasim and Waqar themselves have admitted to preferring to bowl with the old ball, and both often found it difficult to control the new ball which is why when Amir and Asif came along in England, it was quite impressive and 'un' Pakistan.

Now it's back to square one, except that apart from Wahab for a brief spell in the 1st test Day 4, no one has even managed to reverse the ball efficiently. The most disappointing aspect has been the number of boundary balls they have bowled with the new ball and Cook's strike rate of 70 plus in this series reflects that.

Yasir Shah kind of overshadowed that in the 1st test, but has been unable to do so since then. Sohail was good on the first day but now looks tp have run out of fuel. Amir has bowled well without threatening much and Rahat has been very wayward.

 

[nightprowler10]

Younis slow ton on the 4th day to secure a draw. Might stick a few bob on that. I don't gamble but can anyone tell the best odds I can get for that?

Younis has not looked good all series. If there is a match saving 100 it won't be from him.

 

[Grumpy]

Can I just say how fantastic this series has been? Far exceeded my expectations. I was honestly expecting a one-sided rout like SL earlier or India's previous recent tours.

Both sides have shown remarkable resilience to keep fighting back which was missing from the Ashes last year. Sure, the result was 3-2, but none of the Tests were as absorbing as these have been (except maybe Cardiff).

The Lords test kept ebbing and flowing right until the last session when Bairstow got out. England, and Root in particular, showed massive character to fight back and destroy Pak. Misbah, to his credit, threw it back by deciding to bowl first and win the first 2 and a half days of this Test. And England again have turned the game around in one session.

Absoulte compelling viewing. Won't be surprised out at all if Pak turn it around this morning.

 

[Grumpy]

Younis has not looked good all series. If there is a match saving 100 it won't be from him.

True, but most of Younis' innings have come in these exact circumstances. People keep going on about his flamingo technique, but he has gotten himself in most of the time this series despite that. He has proven he has the mental game for these situations.