England v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Day 4: Operation Destruction Completed Successfully

 

England v Pakistan

2^nd Test

Day 4: Operation Destruction Completed Successfully

July 25^th  2016

The petulant whining about the non-enforcement of the Follow-On has been shown to be as ridiculous as it was irrelevant. It was all a bit wet, which was the one thing that the weather was not: the rain, which the critics assured us even this morning would wipe a huge swathe out of play both today and tomorrow, did not turn up. The BBC weather forecaster had promised in the morning that the weather would be fine and, like Alistair Cook, was vindicated. Despite losing a session to rain, England sealed a massive win with almost four sessions to spare.

Pakistan’s English-language Dawn newspaper was vitriolic in its ridicule of England’s decision not to enforce the Follow-On. This might have been out of frustration as much as anything. They would have known that Pakistan’s one, slim hope of survival was to Follow-On (against an attack that would soon be a bowler short) and watch them tire progressively on a flat pitch. It would only have taken a single stand. Instead, England took to their task to grind down Pakistan’s own 4-man attack and destroy the confidence of Yasir Shah very seriously. Just look at the figures for the conclusion of the England innings:

·        86 runs from the last 10 overs of the innings.

·        75 runs added from 9 overs in 40 minutes in the morning.

·        A partnership of 105 in 85 balls (14.1 overs) at 7.4 runs per over between Cook and Root to bring on the declaration.

The fans predicted confidently that Pakistan would bowl wide, to a defensive field and slow scoring to a crawl, taking time out of the game. As it was, they seemed too utterly defeated to do anything about the England scoring rate, which accelerated steadily as the declaration approached, despite putting seven men on the boundary.

Shah’s match figures are an eye-watering 63-6-284-1: unable in this Test either to take wickets, or to slow down the scoring on a pitch on which England seriously considered playing two spinners (for comparison, the much-criticised Moeen Ali, had match figures of 26.2-1-131-5).

As an exercise in demoralisation it recalls Mike Gatting’s destruction of Laxman Sivaramakrishnan in India in 1984/85, when after winning the 1^st Test almost single-handed with 12 wickets, he took an expensive 6-for to give him a third consecutive 6-for in an innings, in the first innings of the Second Test, before Gatting destroyed his confidence so totally that he was never again effective, even at First Class level.

Misbah-ul-Haq, who is proving to be a diplomat, as well as a fine captain and a generous opponent, admitted that the pitch did little and that Pakistan should have scored 400 in the first innings and plenty in the second innings, but were short on confidence. What the Pakistani confidence levels will be like now, after this horrible pummelling, does not bear thinking of. Pakistan will look at how no fewer than nine batsmen passed 20 in the Test, yet only Misbah reached 50 and he was dismissed for 52 in the first innings.

Needing to survive 186 overs, Pakistan were 25-2 in the eleventh over – from there, there was no way back. Mohammed Hafeez and Younis Khan gave some hope that the game could be taken into the final day, but the danger of a brain-fade was always there and the desire to hit Moeen Ali out of the stadium did for both of them. Moeen Ali’s lack of success in recent Tests turned out to be his biggest weapon, as batsmen failed to treat him with sufficient respect and threw their wickets away in a macho attempt to emulate Misbah’s treatment of him from the 1^st Test. Those match figures of 5-131 will do Moeen’s case no harm, even if he was, inevitably, upstaged by Joe Root’s first over of the series (a wicket maiden).

Even the bad news for England may turn out to have a silver lining. Ben Stokes looks to have done real damage to his calf muscle, but his likely absence will allow England to give a game to one of a long list of players fighting to get into the attack. With Edgbaston unlikely to favour spin, the temptation to play Adil Rashid will be resisted, instead, England will have to decide the relative merits of: Wood (back playing for the Lions and bowling well), Finn (surely he cannot be brought back so soon), Plunkett (who only lost his place due to injury), Ball (who did nothing wrong in the 1^st Test and looked the part) and possibly even Chris Jordan (back from the IPL and bowling with vim and vigour). Plenty of bowlers are banging on the door and shouting for a chance to play.

Personally, I would go for Plunkett, with his extra pace and bounce, to shake up some nervous Pakistani batsmen, as the word is that probably Mark Wood has not bowled enough overs to be ready for a 5-day Test (always assuming that a Test goes into a fifth day in this series).

A couple of days ago I suggested that this series was starting to resemble England v India in 2014. I stick by that suggestion. We will see if it still looks that way after the 3^rd Test. Either way, the series is now guaranteed to be live for the Final Test, at The Oval, starting on August 11^th.

England v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Day 3: Break Their Hearts. The Specious Follow-On Debate

 

England v Pakistan

2^nd Test

Day 3: Break Their Hearts. The Specious Follow-On Debate

July 24^th  2016

Day 3 was all about England showing the sort of superiority over the opposition that used to be the mark of the West Indians of Clive Lloyd or Viv Richards, or the Australians of Steve Waugh: do not just beat the opposition, break their hearts. The wailing and whining after Alistair Cook failed to impose the Follow-On made one think that England were playing for a draw in a desperate attempt to avoid an ignominious defeat, rather than winning comfortably and having the luxury to win the easy way, putting the smallest possible strain on the team.

On a pitch that is still a batting paradise, England’s target was to get at least one wicket in the first hour. It came and, by Lunch, Pakistan at 119-8, had basically surrendered the match. What followed shows why Alistair Cook was reluctant to enforce the Follow-On. Misbah, Wahab and Mohammad Amir together added 60 for the 9^th wicket and then the last two added 19 for the last wicket. It was a hard slog for the bowlers and showed that there was nothing wrong with the pitch and that even a tail-ender could hang around for a long time if he was determined. With Pakistan 391 behind on the first innings, Alistair Cook could have bet on Pakistan folding again. He may have remembered though the game in which Sri Lanka arguably finished Andrew Flintoff’s career prematurely.

1^st Test, 2006: England scored 551-6d and then bowled out Sri Lanka for 191.

Andrew Flintoff enforced the Follow-On, despite the fact that the pitch remained flat. Sri Lanka batted for 199 overs to score 537-9 and many feel that the 51 overs that Andrew Flintoff bowled in an increasingly desperate attempt to win the match, contributed to the injury that finally ended his career.

Alistair Cook reasoned that there was a danger that his bowlers could have to spend three full days in the field if he enforced the Follow-On and Pakistan failed to fold tamely a second time. With barely a week before the 3^rd Test and then just 4 days between the 3^rd and 4^th Tests, the risk was to leave his attack totally exhausted by what is likely to be the deciding Test of the series.

Cook also did what Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards and Steve Waugh would have done. How often did we see them bat again and increase the lead to a figure beyond all reason before deciding to declare? You knew that England were not going to score 500, or 550 to win, but those captains made a point and only declared when they could see that the opposition was totally destroyed and their will to resist, gone. “Don’t just beat them”, was the watch-word, “break their hearts”.

Pakistan are still a dangerous force. Winning this Test big will help win the next two [it is similar to the reasoning of the hero in the film Ender’s Game. When Ender is asked why he kept hitting his obviously defeated opponent in a fight, he replied “I’d won this fight, I wanted to win the next ones too”. You do that by breaking the spirit of your opponent and destroying their will to come back at you next time].

With time to be made up tomorrow there are, in theory, another 196 overs to bowl still. Expect England to bat for perhaps an hour in the morning and to go after the bowlers again, looking for quick runs. Pakistan will be set at least 550 to win, maybe closer to 600: a target that they will know is impossible, although they will say that, with sensible batting, they can still win. Cook will declare, knowing that they will get a blast with the new ball before Lunch, have a break and then have another blast after Lunch with still fresh bowlers and a reasonably new ball.

Pakistan will need to bat around 180 overs to draw. Only four sides in the history of Test cricket have batted that long in the fourth innings of a match and none of them were Pakistan: their best effort is just 137.5 overs in their defeat at Melbourne in 1990.

If Pakistan can save this game they will have deserved to. It will have been by far the most remarkable rearguard action in their history.

England v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Day 2: Déjà Vu from 2014?

 

England v Pakistan

2^nd Test

Day 2: Déjà Vu from 2014?

 July 23^rd  2016

The advantage of going on holiday for a week to a remote area of Northern Spain with no Internet was that the horribly inevitable spiral of England to defeat in the 1^st Test was limited to score updates on my smartphone. England were simply outplayed in every department and seemed to be carrying at least four passengers in their side and even then, briefly on the final day, suggested that they could win.

The response of the selectors has been to recall Stokes and Anderson, logically enough and, more unexpectedly, to call up Adil Rashid, but then disappoint by leaving him out on the morning when the adventurous option would have been to take in two seamers. Adil Rashid is no destroyer, but would add options to the attack and his form for England in the short forms of the game must have boosted his confidence enormously. It could be that the selectors are worried that they would be exposed if Anderson or Stokes were to break down, but the logical option was to play all four seamers as two are good batsmen too.

To no one’s great surprise, Jake Ball has been returned to Nottinghamshire and Toby Roland-Jones to England Lions duty. The rise of Chris Woakes has also meant that the selectors took the bull by the horns and released Steve Finn early (translation: he was never under serious consideration to play). Steve Finn’s travails since Graeme Smith decided, in 2012, that his occasional habit of knocking off the bails in his delivery constituted a grave distraction and thus managed to change the laws to eliminate this menace from the game, have been well documented. Steve Finn bowled like a demon in South Africa in the absence of Jimmy Anderson, but has since not looked like taking Test wickets. Of course, Finn responded with a display of real pace and menace in Middlesex’s T20 win against Hampshire after being released by England. Why he can look like a world-class pace bowler one night for Middlesex and like a county fourth seamer for England the week before, is one of those mysteries of cricket.

At Lord’s, Pakistan batted and made what, ultimately, was a match-winning total. The big difference between the sides was Misbah converting a start into a century – something that no England batsman could do – and the bowling of Yasir Shah, sticking to basics and making batsman after batsman commit suicide. This time though, it was Alistair Cook who won the Toss. And this time England made it count on a benign pitch against a friendly attack.

That England’s batting effort was not another disaster was down to Cook and Root getting stuck in and getting support from the lower middle order. Joe Root’s prodigious innings made up for another alarming failure from Alex Hales and another brief but pretty innings from James Vince, who has added yet another low score to his list of Test innings.

Vince’s sequence of scores – 9, 35, 10, 0, 16, 42, 18 – is starting to get seriously worrying. You can argue that Alex Hales had a similarly rocky start before coming good, but Hales at least had the consolation of a 50 against a much better attack than those that Vince has faced. The betting is that James Vince will get the 3^rd Test to make a score and then will make way for his replacement for the tour of India if he cannot. The beauty of Vince’s batting is making the pundit’s purr… as long as it lasts, which has generally been all too briefly before he gives it away. Alex Hales is a different problem. He made three important scores against Sri Lanka and has a string of ODI 50s and 100s since the South Africa Test series ended; Pakistan though are presenting him with a new problem that he is, at present, unable to solve. Hales though needs a score quickly to silence any premature chat about dropping him.

The England innings gave ammunition to those who have suggested that England’s batting is Root, Cook and nine honest triers. It ignores the fact that of Root’s six previous Test innings this summer, four have been not so commendably brief – dismissed in single figures – yet England have been winning, at least until the Lord’s Test. Even at Lord’s, after a Root failure that left the side 47-3 and sinking fast, there were times, particularly as Bairstow and Woakes crafted a careful 50 partnership, when Pakistan must have started to worry a little.

One of the problems at Lord’s was clusters of wickets falling, giving Pakistan momentum at critical moments. Here though, until the final slog that led to the declaration, there was no partnership smaller than the 25 that Hales and Cook put on together and no single-figure score. Even when a wicket fell, there was no great encouragement for the bowlers as the next man settled in. To score 589-8 at almost 4-an-over has made a major point, as have Yasir Shah’s figures of 54-6-231-1: the most expensive bowler apart from Wahab Riaz, unable to tie down an end or to take wickets. Pakistan’s Plan A was Yasir Shah. Their Plan B seemed to be abject surrender.

Sir Geoffrey talked about scoreboard pressure playing tricks on batsman, knowing that they were playing for a draw at best, but even then there was no excuse for what followed, particularly as the new ball attack was seen off comfortably. However, like Australia in the late 1970s and early 1980s, who had the holy terrors every time that Ian Botham took the ball – only he could induce batsmen to give their wickets away to the most innocent deliveries – Chris Woakes seems to be having the same effect on Asians in general. He only took more than one wicket in a match once in his first six Tests but, against Pakistan and Sri Lanka this summer, has 22 in just over 3 Tests at 12.3. None of his wicket-taking deliveries was particularly lethal, but Pakistani eyes lit-up and offered themselves as willing victims.

Pakistan have done what England did at Lord’s. So far their partnerships are 27, 16, 5, 5 & 4*. When a wicket falls, another has fallen quickly, giving the bowlers even more encouragement. It makes fatigue disappear as the bowler’s spell extends. It convinces the batsmen to come that there are non-existent demons in the pitch. And, if you follow social media, it convinces fans of the opposition that the pitch was specially prepared to disintegrate as soon as England declared (a mind game that almost always backfires on their own side, by creating a bunker mindset where everything is conspiring against you)!

Day 3 offers cloud, possibly some rain and favourable bowling conditions. It will be an almighty effort to take 16 more Pakistan wickets on what remains a very good batting surface but were Misbah to fall early, Pakistan could just fold.

It all gives a sense of déjà vu from 2014. Then, Sri Lanka were the first visitors and India the main course that England were expected to digest with some ease. Yes, we talked about how skilful the Indians seamers were, but they were not expected to be good enough to overcome England. India sent shockwaves through the country when they won the 1^st Test at a canter before suddenly falling apart. Are we seeing Pakistan do the same?

England v Pakistan, 1st Test, Day 2: Something Odd is Happening at Lord’s

 

England v Pakistan

1^st Test

Day 2: Something Odd is Happening at Lord’s

 July 16^th  2016

The script for this match said that no side has taken 20 wickets on a dead Lord’s surface all season. The surface looked a good one for batting and Pakistan’s efforts yesterday seemed to suggest that a first innings score of around 450 would be par.

In other words, accept a rather boring draw and move on to Old Trafford.

Barring the intervention of the weather, or of Alistair Cook, who is courting a one match ban for a slow over-rate, managing to slow the England over rate still further to a level that the 1980s West Indians would have envied, there will be a result, quite probably on the fourth day.

From 282-4 late on the first day, 13 wickets have fallen for the addition of 310 runs. First Pakistan and then England have made batting look high risk. The fact that there has also been some pretty poor bowling at times makes the clatter of wickets even harder to understand. It is the sort of situation that would make Marvin the Paranoid Android of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" complain "Oh dear! Reality is on the blink again!"

Right now, there are two differences between the side: the first is that Misbah-ul-Huq has been the only player able to make a major score (Misbah’s 114 trumped Cook’s 81) and the second is that Yasir Shah has sown seeds of doubt where only certainty should have existed. Although Chris Woakes’s 6-70 is better on paper, Shah’s 5-64 has turned the game.

What possessed Joe Root to take a wild swing and sky a catch when he and Cook had put on 110 and were making batting look easy, we do not know. Up until then the Pakistan bowling was poor and, when the bowlers did induce a mistake, the fielding was worse. Once Root had committed hari-kiri when a major score was there for the taking, Yasir Shah decided that his best course was not to rely on his fielders: three LBWs and Jonny Bairstow bowled. Mohammad Amir took his cue from Yasir Shah and removed Cook bowled off the inside edge: when you cannot rely on your wicket-keeper or fielders to catch anything, bowleds and LBWs are the best recourse.

It should not have been this way. In eleven overs and four balls Pakistan had gone from a commanding 282-4 to a scarcely credible 316-9. Thoughts of 450 evaporated like referendum pledges, although Pakistan’s last wicket pair were still able to add what may ultimately be a match-winning 23 runs.

When England batted, all the doubts returned. Alex Hales’s leaden feet were more the Hales of the South African Tests than the swashbuckling warrior who battered Sri Lanka. Vince came, had Michael Vaughan purring at his artistry and went, once again, when looking set: 70 runs in 5 innings have convinced no one that he is the batsman that England need. Gary Balance got a superb ball, but all the talk will be of how his failure proves that the selectors were wrong to bring him back. And Moeen Ali, who owed England some runs, looked awfully unlucky to fall with umpire’s call on point of impact and on hitting the stumps, plus a spike on Snicko that the TV umpire thought was caused possibly by his spikes scraping the ground just at the moment that ball passed bat. Lest we forget, Jake Ball was pretty fortunate to get Azhar Ali yesterday so, as usual, these things have evened-up.

Each time a batsman seemed to be getting things under control, a wicket fell. The upshot is that, with Chris Woakes playing calmly and Stuart Broad hanging on, England are 86 behind on a pitch expected to favour the bowlers in the fourth innings and desperately need to reach parity tomorrow morning. If they are to do it, Chris Woakes will almost certainly have to surpass his best Test score by some distance and Stuart Broad will need to stay with him for at least an hour in the morning: it looks unlikely right now. At very worst, England need to reach 300 to feel that they are still in the game.

Right now, you have to feel that this game is Pakistan’s match to lose. By the end of the 3^rd Day we may well be seeing the end-game approach.

England v Pakistan, 1st Test, Day 1: Misbah Shows the Way

 

England v Pakistan

1^st Test

Day 1: Misbah Shows the Way

 July 15^th  2016

At times, Misbah has been a figure of fun in world cricket. “Start the tuk-tuk” is a typical comment when he is playing one of his slow, deliberate innings (ignoring that, when the situation permits and demands, he can be incredibly destructive too).

A year or so ago most people expected confidently his retirement, after all, he is past 42 now, yet he is batting as well, or better, than ever. In 2014, well past his 40^th birthday, he came up with consecutive scores of 101, 101* and 102* v Australia. Now, in the four Tests v England that are the last four that Pakistan have played, he has managed 3, 51, 102, 87, 71, 38 & 110*. Forget the fact that it was not until his seventh Test and his twelfth innings, more than six years after debut, that he finally reached 30 in an innings, an average of over 50 in Tests is impressive testament to the unflappable skill that he brings to a team not known for its calmness.

Quite apart from his runs, Misbah has united the Pakistan team with his captaincy. It is hard to believe that he would have allowed a Test to be forfeit by losing control of a situation. Since taking over the captaincy  in 2010, in the wake of the last Pakistan tour of England, he has scored eight of his ten Test centuries and averaged 58.5, winning 20 and losing just 11 of his 42 Tests as captain.

His importance to his side is evident from his figures:

·        In matches that he has won as captain his average rises to an impressive 71.6.

·        In matches that he has drawn as captain, he averages 70.8.

·        In matches that he has lost as captain, he averages just 30.2.

Misbah’s record as captain is very impressive indeed. Some people seem to think that England will have an easy series win, but just look at his numbers as captain:

·        42 Tests, Won 20, Drawn 11, Lost 11.

Those figures do not give much evidence that he allows a lot of 2-0 and 3-0 series defeats. It is Misbah’s misfortune to lead Pakistan in an era when the have suffered Test exile and political ostracism. Of the sixteen Tests played by Pakistan in the last two years, nine have been against England and Sri Lanka. While England have played a series against every Full Member bar Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in the last two years, Pakistan have to settle for series against anyone willing to play them.

When you have to make do with crumbs from the top table and have a lack of marquee series, you enjoy any success that comes your way. The sight of a 42 year old player celebrating his debut century at Lord’s with ten push-ups is likely to become one of the images of the summer. That he did it after rescuing his side from 77-3 on a pitch seemingly full of runs, has added merit.

Two wickets just before the Close to the inspirational Woakes have levelled the contest again when it looked as if Misbah’s efforts could lead it to run away from England. After his debut at The Oval in 2013 – a debut that was nowhere near the disaster that legend tries to recall – the continued selection of Chris Woakes has been met with derision and despair by fans. His average is still a fraction over 35, but his last 3 Tests have brought 12 wickets so far at 16.3, apart from some useful runs. On the day, although he slowed as he tired, Woakes was the fastest of the England bowlers, sending down several balls at over 90mph in his first spell.

Apart from Woakes, the debut of Jake Ball was not to be despised: a review second delivery of his career that pitched just far enough outside leg to save Masood, followed by a wicket in the first over of his second spell. Ball bowled quicker than many expected, although his fastest deliveries were just below 90mph.

In contrast, Finn and Moeen are struggling. Steve Finn was expensive and not threatening at all, again well down on pace. Loyalty is one thing, but Finn has lost his action – again – and needs some time back in County cricket to recover form and confidence. Finn’s problems would be easier to carry were Moeen not having a rough time. After an amazing start in Test cricket, Moeen is now becoming better known and batsmen are managing to avoid being fooled by him. He still has his days – the 7-116 in Durban shows that he can be very effective still – but his last 7 Tests have brought just 5 wickets at 119 each: the selectors have to start to ask themselves whether or not Adil Rashid, who is in decent form this season (20 wickets @ 35.3, with 3x50 with the bat) would do better.

A lot can happen still in this match, but the betting must be that Stokes and Anderson will replace Finn and Ball in the 2^nd Test and that Moeen may not see out the series. With an increasing pool of players who are in the frame to play and do a good job in the different formats, players in poor form can be dropped from a position of strength.

On Day 2, Pakistan will want to push on to 400+ and ensure against the possibility that they could be caught chasing a substantial England lead on a deteriorating pitch on Days 4 and 5. England will have hopes of wrapping up the innings for 330-340 and applying some pressure. You get the impression though that both sides will be fairly happy to come out with a draw and to move on to Old Trafford still level.

England v Pakistan, 1st Test: Soft Centre or Iron Core?

 

England v Pakistan

1^st Test

Soft Centre or Iron Core?

 July 14^th  2016

Over the last two years since England made a radical shake-up, first of the Test team and then of the limited-overs squads you can argue that they have not really been properly tested. Australia were too inconsistent and, when the going got tough, far too weak to test England’s resolve properly. India briefly took advantage of England’s struggles before surrendering abjectly and Sri Lanka, despite giving England a much-needed shock in 2014, are a side that will always struggle to come to terms with May in England although, like England having to master conditions in India and Sri Lanka to become a more complete side, the only way to improve is to gain experience in them. And South Africa were, like Australia, very good indeed when they were good, but pretty mediocre otherwise, with the mediocre dominating.

What of Pakistan? They were good enough to take a close series in the UAE – and it was close – and win it 2-0. When they were down, they hung on and when they were on to, they made it count. Now, the lay England at home. The one thing that almost everyone in world cricket can agree on is that Pakistan have the weapons to hurt England. They also have a canny captain who has united the side in a way that few would have believed possible. Pakistan remain infuriatingly inconsistent, but very dangerous when things go right.

This series is #3 v #4 in the ICC Test table.

·        If Pakistan win 1-0, they leap over India into 2^nd.

·        If Pakistan win 3-0, they go ahead of Australia and top of the table.

For England, the equation is less favourable

·        If England win 1-0, they rise to 3^rd, above Pakistan.

·        If England win 2-0, they rise to 2^nd, but even a 4-0 win will see England remain well short of Australia.

The focus will be on Mohammad Amir, but both sides have a lot to prove. Pakistan have started a war of words by talking about England’s fragile middle order when, of late, it has been the top order that has failed them regularly, with the middle order bailing the side out. However, the middle order has been re-shuffled. Joe Root, who struggled against Sri Lanka, has moved up to #3. James Vince, whose place is still in some doubt, takes Root’s place at #4 and a re-commissioned Gary Ballance bats at #5.

To hear the critics, mostly from outside the UK, you would think that Gary Ballance is little more than an over-promoted club cricketer, barely of county standard. Actually, even after the runless spell that saw him dropped, he still averages 47.8 after 15 Tests. However, Ballance’s selection is a risk after a poor season so far, although 78, 32, 132 & 3 in his last two county games suggests that he has hit some form in the last month. 80 & 34 in his last two List A games says something similar.

More of a risk is the bowling attack. Jake Ball will play after an apprenticeship as drinks waiter. However, an attack of Broad, Woakes, Ball, Finn and Moeen Ali does look as if it could struggle to take wickets. Probably the last place is between Finn and the deserving Toby Roland-Jones: the lack of anyone of high pace or guile makes that attack look frighteningly like the one that David Gower was served-up in his captaincy debut against Pakistan in 1982 – not a happy memory for England fans – four steady medium-pacers and a flat spinner in Eddie Hemmings.

Given the doubts about both the England batting and bowling and the likely flat Lord’s pitch, the short odds on an England win look difficult to understand. However, given the mercurial nature of the Pakistan side, it may be that a Pakistani brain-fade such as the one that almost lost them the 1^st Test in the UAE makes those odds fair. The suspicion though is that Pakistan may have an attack better suited to the Lord’s pitch than England although, as has been pointed out, no side has yet taken 20 wickets in a match at Lord’s this season. Maybe England will be happy to settle for a draw and wait for Jimmy Anderson and possibly Ben Stokes to return for the 2^nd Test at Jimmy Anderson’s home ground.

The last two series between these two sides in England have finished 3-0 and 3-1 to England: this one could be a lot closer. If Pakistan show the soft centre that they have done in the past when touring, convincing themselves that the whole world is against them, they could suffer another heavy defeat; if they show the iron core of the series in the UAE, all bets are off. The same comment may be made of England: do they have the iron core necessary to make a proper assault on the #1 ranking in Test cricket?

England v Sri Lanka, 3rd – 5th ODIs, T20 & End of Tour: Disappointed Sri Lankans Draw a Blank

 

England v Sri Lanka

3^rd – 5^th ODIs, T20 & End of Tour

Disappointed Sri Lankans Draw a Blank

 July 6^th  2016

An early-season tour of England was always going to be tough for a young Sri Lankan side. Lest we forget though, we said the same in 2014 and saw how Sri Lanka won in all three formats: Tests, ODIs and T20. There are plenty of fans out there in the Internet willing to ridicule Sri Lanka as a desperately poor team and so minimise the England achievement: however, you are only as good as you are allowed to be by the opposition and Sri Lanka were not given many opportunities to shine.

The Sri Lankans will look back to the first ODI, on June 21^st and their inability to defend the ten runs from the last two balls that England needed as, perhaps, the crucial turning point of the tour: what if Chris Woakes had not been allowed to scramble a three from the penultimate ball, when a sharper fielding side might not even have allowed two? What if Pradeep’s last ball had been as accurate as the previous three and Liam Plunkett had not had room to hammer the six needed to tie over Long-off?

A tour that had started with rain helping save Sri Lanka from likely defeat against a rampant Essex had plumbed new depths in the 2^nd Test at Chester-le-Street until the glorious second innings revival had, just briefly, raised hopes that an astonishing comeback win might be possible. An honourable draw in the 3^rd Test was followed by two massive thumpings of a totally overwhelmed Ireland. Sri Lanka looked to be back on course and putting the early difficulties on the tour behind them. Had Sri Lanka won the 1^st ODI, who knows how the series would have finished?

As it was the tie seemed to knock the newly ignited fight out of Angelo Matthews’s side and the utterly humiliating defeat in the 2^nd ODI, when England chased down 255 to win with almost 16 overs to spare was reminiscent of the match nearly ten years ago now when Sri Lanka won in similarly humiliating fashion, ending Steve Harmison’s ODI career (among others). In the 3^rd ODI England had just started to chase a very inadequate 248-9 when the rain arrived. The 4^th ODI saw Sri Lanka pass 300 for only the third time in all their innings in England on the tour (the previous two had been in the game against Leicestershire, when a 9^th wicket stand of 174 saved them from embarrassment) and in the second innings of the 2^nd Test (475), only for England to chase the target down comfortably in 40 overs.

The 5^th ODI was a contest until Sri Lanka started to bat. England’s 324 was extremely disappointing – it should have been over 350 – but from a reasonably promising 66-1, Sri Lanka subsided tamely in a game that lost intensity once it became obvious that Sri Lanka could not win.

The fact that the three leading wicket-takers in the ODI series (Willey, Plunkett and Adil Rashid) were all English, as was the leading run-scorer (Roy) and the six highest individual scores (all 93 and higher), points to the gulf between the sides. Sri Lanka managed eleven individual 50s in the five ODIs, but Mendis’s 77 at The Oval was the highest of them: no one made a telling individual contribution.

And so to the final act of the tour: the T20 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. Sri Lanka’s running had all the quality of lemmings, but none of their caution. There seemed to be some idea that, as in baseball that you swing wildly and, if the ball is not caught, you run like hell, wherever the ball ends up.

Even the bad news was good news for England. With Alex Hales sunning himself on the beach as a reward for his efforts in Tests and ODIs, Jos Buttler was given a chance to open, but lost Jason Roy third ball. Chasing a low total, with Roy’s golden form, there was a very real chance that Roy could effectively win the match on his own; by falling quickly, Buttler, Vince (less successfully) and Morgan were given the chance to have a long bat. While Vince, again, was out cheaply, Buttler and Morgan knocked the runs off calmly, with Eoin Morgan beginning to re-capture some form and fluency: he did not quite reach his 50, but did finish the match with a big 6.

What to make of James Vince?

9, 35, 10 & 0 in the Tests. 51 in his only ODI innings. And 16 last night. It is not a run of single-figure scores, but he has not cemented his position either. That 51 in the final ODI has helped, but there is still the feeling that he needs at least one big score against Pakistan to make sure of his place for India. He has looked good for a time in almost every innings, but has tended to get out fairly early.

Of the bowling attack, everyone did well. Tymal Mills was very fast and the most economical. Adil Rashid also put in a miserly performance. Dawson took 3-27, strangling the life out of the innings in partnership with Adil Rashid and Jordan and Plunkett took five wickets between them. It was professional and clinical. While Sri Lanka gave away 7 wides, England gave away just 3. Sri Lanka’s bowlers gave up 6, sixes, England’s just 3.

The Sri Lankan tour in 2014 came with England severely shell-shocked from the tour of Australia and against a much stronger Sri Lankan side. On this occasion Sri Lanka have been overpowered in the way that most had expected them to be then. In 2014, England found Moeen Ali: his star has waned a lot, at least when bowling. In 2016, Chris Woakes has come into an England attack shorn of several of its first-choice support bowlers and sealed his place. Alex Hales has batted superbly and Jason Roy has come into his own in the ODIs. Despite missing a raft of bowlers and Steve Finn looking under the weather, Jordan, Plunkett, Woakes, Mills, Dawson, Stokes and Willey have all shone at different times. England certainly seem to have some options and the opportunity for squad rotation in all three formats. There are plenty of grounds for modest optimism.

Now, attention turns to Pakistan and there are already reasons to think that they will pose a far more serious challenge: Somerset did avoid defeat thanks largely to Marcus Trescothick’s century, but Pakistan dominated in a way that Sri Lanka never have at any time on their tour. Pakistan can blow hot and cold, but when they blow hot they can be irresistible.