By Saj Sadiq
February 20 2003

A great match is in prospect in Cape Town on Saturday with the knowledge that the loser of this match could find it very difficult to reach the Super Sixes. Knight, Trecothick and Vaughan are the key men for England, and Pakistan will expect big things from Inzi, Yousuf, Shoaib and wasim. Saturday sees a crucial match for Pakistan and England in Cape Town, with the loser of this match in serious trouble as far as qualification to the Super Sixes is concerned.

Neither team havent exactly lit the tournament alight with their displays to date, with England forfeiting their match against Zimbabwe and two mediocre performances against Holland and Namibia. Although Duncan Fletcher has been playing down any concerns about the performances against the 2 minnows, he must have been concerned at Namibia scoring over 200 against them.

The fact that the match is a day/nighter makes it even more interesting with the toss being crucial, especially to Pakistan. The Pakistanis will of course be looking to bat first, put the runs on the board and rely on their explosive bowling attack to do the rest.

I think England will rely heavily on their opening partnership of Trescothick and Knight to see off Wasim and Shoaib and then look to Michael Vaughan to play a long innings. If England have wickets in hand late in their innings, then the likes of White and Flintoff could prove effective in the slog overs.

Andy Caddick hasn’t been in the wickets in the tournament so far, but I think the bounce that he gets could pose problems for Pakistans top order. England will be hoping that Giles is fit for this match, as without him, their bowling attack looks a little weak, with the inexperienced but promising Anderson opening the bowling, followed by White, Flintoff, Vaughan and possibly Irani or Blackwell.

On paper the batting of both teams looks pretty even with Pakistan heavily reliant on Inzamam and Yousuf Youhana, but I think Pakistan have the edge in the bowling department, although England’s fielding is well above the Pakistani standard.

It will be interesting to see if England can suddenly raise their game on the back of two easy matches and whether the Pakistani batting line up can click.

Inzamam has done nothing in the tournament so far and sooner rather than later he is going to make some big runs. All Pakistanis will be hoping that Saturday is the start of some good form for the big man, who has looked short of confidence. He has a good record against England and will be hoping that he can lead his side to victory.

Saqlain, Razzaq and Wasim will come up against county colleagues and there will definitely be an edge to this match. No doubt both camps will realise the importance of this match and the pressure on both teams will be huge.