England v Pakistan 3rd Test @ Dubai International Cricket Stadium Friday 3 February 2012

Scorecard

The Third Test.  The series lost, a dead rubber, playing for pride and all that.  Playing for the number one position  as well because 2-1 is better than 2-0 or even 3-0 with Sri Lanka away to come.  Have England rung the batting changes?  Nope.  No-one new though they have persisted with Monty Panesar for this game.  The rumours of the introduction of Bopara have come to nothing.

Coming in from Oman means that I arrive at the airport at 9:40 and then spend an interesting 40 minutes directing a local Dubai taxi driver to the place I have been to once.  This man has driven in the city for over 10 years yet I have to point out to him that he's passed the stadium before he notices.  The drive costs twice as much as the last time, but one of the exit roads is now half a bridge to be fair and we come to a negotiated price somewhere between the last one and this one.  (I think the fact that I started to make a note of the complaints number might have had something to do with this).

So.. into the ground, up to the press box, settle myself in and look at the scorecard.  Pakistan have won the toss and are 21 for 4 halfway through the 11th over with Broad on 5/3/3/10 and Anderson bowling his 6th with 1 for 9.  Before I'm up and running he is 2 for 9 as he has Misbah LBW on an Umpires Call after review and Pakistan are in a state of dissarray at 21 for 5.  The bowlers are doing what they have been doing for the past three games.  Let's hope the batsmen manage to over-perform and actually pass the Asian score this time!!

Akmal is nearly runout by a shy at the stumps on the 5th ball of the 15th (Why do we never hit the stumps when it matters?  Is the cry from the press box)  Monty is introduced early and is soon causing Shafiq all kinds of problems as the Pakistani tries to cut his country out of trouble playing and missing at everything.  However it is Broad and Akmal that provide the next wicket as one keeps low from the Press Box End and the batsman misses it, is judged in front and sent on his way despite an 'Umpire's call' review.  39 for 6 at the end of the 19th and Broad has 4!

Swann replaces Monty at the end of the 21st because he got the new man Rehman out before.  The first ball is driven confidently but he tries to go over KP at Mid on with his second but gets a top edge and after an age Mr Kevin takes the catch and Pakistan's slump continues to 44 for 7.  The nightmare of their lowest score (in Sharjah in 1992) of 53 is starting to loom.  Their lowest score against England (Edgbaston 2010) of 72 looks a looooong way off.  Nevertheless, they stagger into lunch at 12 having passed 50 with their last shot of the session and at least equalling the first of those two targets.  England's session I think boys and girls!!  Lunch.........

One of the things about being a 'ligger' in so many ways at these events is seeing people you watched as a younger man wandering about the same room etc.  Faces from Pakistan's glory years float past on their way to work as summarisers for TMS and/or Pakistani Radio - Mr Unis is the only one I can put a name to but the faces (less wrinkled in memory) are familiar. The other thing is the menu choice... lots of labels 'spicy', 'less spicy' (less spicy than what?) and 'non spicy' are not particularly helpful - the 'less spicy' should have the label 'semi - volcanic' for the poor virgin English taste buds.  Puddings also interest me... there are two.  The Universal Fruit Salad for the predominently vegetarian Asian audience primarily and the good old Western 'Bread and Butter Pudding' for the Brits!  I am about to be offended by the stereotype but I taste it first and it is...... bloody marvellous!!  The racial tension is eased and I return fulfilled to my job/hobby just in time to see Broad pass Ajmal's bat with the first post Lunch ball.

All is once more right with the world as the English bowler delivers a maiden.  Monty takes up the challenge from the scoreboard end but the very vocal 500 or so Pakistani suporters are getting well behind their boys as Shafiq and Ajmal push their score towards the magic 73.  To say they are 7 down after the first two hours of this game, they seem to be finding things much easier after the interval, although scoring is slow it is because of natural tailender caution rather than problems from the spinner and they pass the lowest ever total with a pulled four off of Broad in the 35th.  He went past the bat in his first over but it looks a little more benign now for the seamers.  However, it isn't for the spinners as Ajmal misses a straight one and is the 5th LBW victim of this innings at 78 half way through the 36th over - Monty 8.3/1/16/1.

Umar Gul is the next man in as Ravi Bopara gets onto the pitch and gets his hands on the ball as the 12th man replacement for Trott.  The end of the over heralds a replacement at the Press Box end with Jimmy replacing Stuart for the 37th.  Shafiq ia still trying desperately not to hang about as he swishes wildly at Anderson's third and misses cutting down his own leg stump by millimeters.

However it isn't Shafiq's wild shot selection that does for him.  It's a ball that tucks him up from Panesar which he fails to steer away from his legs and which traps him in front with no reviews left.  85 for 9 and 6 LBW's to the English bowlers, 2 to spin and 4 to seam.  In the 41st there is nearly a seventh as Jimmy gets one to spit a bit... probably high, not good enough for a review anyway.  The future of the Pakistan innings lies in the hands or their two fast bowlers as Cheema joins Gul for the last rites.  Gul is nearly out but if given Not Out, on review it is more 'out' than some of the others but because it is identified as an 'Umpires Call' and the original decision was not out Gul survives.  He replies with a six into the crowd under the scoreboard as the two move the score towards 3 figures with every run being cheered to the rafters by the 'rampant 500'.

A 14 runpartnership between the two looks like taking their country to 3 figures... that is until Anderson delivers a beauty to Gulk and cleans him up on 99 and off England come to a standing ovation... NOW can the batsmen put this to bed by tomorrow lunch time?

Gul and Cheema v Strauss and Cook. Well in the first couple of overs the Pakistanis win hands down as the two English batsmen waft and chase balls they should leave alone.  Strauss gets a flakey boundary and one of the balls from Cheema that Cook sticks his bat down on squirts for a season but neither of the openers look set to be there fore long.  In the third over the inevitable happens as Cook edges one of the wafts and is exccellently caught by Akmal for a solitary 1 and England start the reply with 5 to their name and 9 wickets to come.  Trott strides out to put some solidity into the reply but will people stay with him.  There was a joke going around at lunchtime that anything over 100 would give England a hard job... it was slightly tongue in cheek... but only slightly. The front end looks incerdibly vulnerable at the moment.

In Gul's next over, as Trott tries to flip to leg he is ajudged LBW because he does not connect with the ball playing across the line.  He puts his bat under his arm and wanders off without thinking about a review... the analysis identifies the ball would have missed the stumps and England's woes continue as they move to 7 for 2! Kevin arrives at the crease in another position where he is required to anchor an innings... it hasn't worked out in previous scenarios like this and one wonders how long it will be before we se Ajmal at one end or the other.

The answer is that he takes the 8th over, the one before the Tea interval.  Kevin is very very forward to him immediately and when the 4th ball is a little wide he steps back and cuts for a three.  Strauss faces the rest of the over and he also cuts the first ball he faces to the boundary so the spinner's first over goes for 7 and England go in at the break on 19 for 2 off 8 with Strauss on 9 and Pietersen on 6. 

80 runs behind with 8 wickets in hand the national side walk out to continue this strange first day.  During the break one solitary England fielder has been put through his paces by two coaches, one driving thrown balls while the player sprints in, attacks the ball and tries to throw down one of two sets of foam rubber stumps with catch nets behind them.  Not sure who it was, if it was a Test squad member then the one it looked most like is Onions without his beard.. if it was a one day player, no idea why he was doing this during the first day fo a Test match.  Anyway, that aside Gul starts the third phase of this first day and KP takes a single from his first, his captain follows suit off the next ball and the last two hours of the day are underway.

Have to say I'm surprised to see Cheema back on at the scoreboard end for the second over after Tea.  It suggests that Ajmal did not think he was getting anything significant from the ball in his 6 before the break.  It could bode well for Kevin who may have been given some time to get his eye in against a seam attack before he does battle with the Pakistani slow man again. There is a confidence and fluency abouthis play against the faster ball which simply disappears once the spinners take the ball - a beautiful drive through the covers emphasises this difference as I type - God I'm good!!

Speaking of good, Kevin is driving like a true cricketer today, his second four is sublime and the two men are heading towards 50 even though Ajmal has been introduced by the 11th over.  England seem to have come out with a different frameof mind in this session.  They are looking to attack both Gul and Ajmal off the front foot.  The fifty arrives 2 balls into the 14th and the pair seem to have weathered the early storm - something unusual in this series as far as England pairings are concerned.

The change is noticed by the Pakistanis and the two pronged spin attack is not long in coming.  Rehman replaces Ajmal at the Scoreboard end and Ajmal moves to the Press Box end to take the 15th. But England are not phased and in the 17th the two men bring up the 50 partnership and the "boat" is pretty well steadied again.  If they can take it past 100, Bell might even be able to make a score!!

2 balls into the 19th, Kevin misses a rapid one from Rehman.  The Pakistani cry goes up and the umpire gives Pietersen.  Looking at it in real time it looks like it is going down the leg side so Strauss requests the review.  The analysis identifies that the ball is shaving, by the smallest of measures, the very top of the leg stump.  However, once again the umpire has given the decision as out and therefore KP must go.  He has every right to think he is hard done by... quite a few in this game shave beenon the very edge of the accuracy of the machinery and I'm sure there will be debate about this 'umpire's call' margin and whether it is fair.  There are always going to be very fine boundaries between in and out so the technology debate will roll on.

England however are 64 for 3 and Bell is at the crease needing a REAL innings to reset his confidence levels.  9 runs come from the next 9 overs as Rehman and Ajmal put the brake on well and truly.  With 15 overs to go before the end of play the England momentum has almost virtually gone and it doesn't get any better when Bell has a stumping review that is very difficult to call.  In one frame it is out and in the other???  Who would be a Third umpire?  "Ump 3" goes for out after an age!! and Bell goes for 5 at 75.  Poor old Ian, it doesn't get much better for you son!  Very little 'benefit of the doubt' given to any batsman today I'm afraid.

Morgan is in again on a hiding to nothing and in a situation that doesn't really work with his game.  However, it is as new innings and this could be his day.  The TV and press are debating all kinds of aspects of this series.  Bell has managed 32 runs off 32 balls against Ajmal and has been out to himn FOUR times.  31 LBW referrals have happened in this series and of that number 27 have been upheld while only 4 have been overturned - is that good umpiring or are the present rules about the borderline decisions biased towards the bowlers.  Whan a ball is literally just skimming the stumps can a third umpire be totally sure that the bails would have been dislodged etc etc.

At 88 for 4 in the 33rd over Morgan has another LBW decision against him and this time the decision is overturned Taufel did not give3 him but the DRS sayas it was going to hit and Morgan is on his way.  88 for 5 with the 9th LBW of the day.  Today there have been three umpire verdicts (all Taufel) overturned.

Meanwhile Prior is out in the middle with his captain (still on 35 off 98 balls and not looking at all confident despite his time at the wicket) with his country 9 runs behind with 5 wickets in hand.

The main problem with the England batsmen is they simply cannot hit Ajmal.  He bowls straight and they keep missing him!!  With 9 overs to go I have to leave to get my flight. England trail by 7 and should go into an overnight lead but whether the leading run is hit by Prior, Strauss or Anderson is still in the balance and anything over 99 will be a surprising bonus after this very poor batting display by both sides.  You simply have to hit straight balls!!  

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