< 1 minute readEngland and Pakistan seem to have swapped identities at some point in the recent past. Pakistan are all obdurate and professional, while England try to make up for their catastrophic batting with ever more spectacular bowling efforts. There’s a limit to what the poor bowlers will be able to achieve
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Mohsin Khan’s dad qualities
< 1 minute readPakistan had a job to do, but most of the players were just dicking about. Umar Gul was ragging round on his BMX, Mohammad Hafeez was telling naughty jokes and Kamran Akmal was skulking in the shrubbery, encouraging his brothers to smoke cigarettes. Misbah-ul-Haq was trying to get everybody to
Continue readingEngland’s batsmen and spin in the fourth innings
2 minute readEngland’s second innings batting card looks a bit binary code, but the truth is they weren’t qualified for this job. The batsman v bowler duel generally favours the batsman, but the balance can shift towards the bowler due to the pitch, the weather and the match situation. In Abu Dhabi,
Continue readingPakistan secure narrow win over England
< 1 minute readPakistan held their nerve throughout a challenging 15-run chase on a mostly lifeless day three pitch and secured a narrow 10-wicket win over a thoroughly professional England side. England kept it tight and the pressure built, but with one eye on the clock, Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar timed their
Continue readingSaeed Ajmal will bowl a few more overs against England
< 1 minute readEngland have faced Michael Beer, Xavier Doherty and a guy who looks a bit like Harbhajan Singh in the last year. They haven’t really had to combat any spin bowlers. Saeed Ajmal is a spin bowler – he’s a good spin bowler, in fact. He’s not a 7-55 on day
Continue readingPakistan: Reliable? Organised?
< 1 minute readA reliable and organised Pakistan cricket team is essentially just a theoretical construct. Nevertheless, Misbah-ul-Haq has got them about as close as they ever get. In recent months, they’ve reached a state of solidity they rarely experience. They’re scoring runs, they’re taking wickets and they’re winning pretty much all of
Continue readingThreats made to Mohammad Amir and other Pakistan cricketers
< 1 minute readAs we understand it – and we’ll cheerfully admit to being well out of our depth here – the judge rejected the basis of Mohammad Amir’s plea; that he was put under pressure to do what he did. Amir was asked to prove it and declined the opportunity, citing non-physical
Continue readingMohammad Amir – don’t mourn the loss of a future great
2 minute read“Please don’t let it be the kid,” said Nasser Hussain at the start of all of this. He spoke for most of us. We wanted Mohammad Amir to be innocent, but it turns out that he wasn’t and believing that he might have become a future great makes no sense
Continue readingDo some spot fixing – it’s perfectly normal
< 1 minute readWe’ve already made it clear that we would never accept money to underperform, but if we were that sort of person, the court case involving Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif would make us think again. At the time of writing, Butt has been found guilty of conspiracy to cheat and
Continue readingAsif and Butt’s agent says a lot of stuff
< 1 minute readThose following the court case involving Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif will have seen a lot of eye-catching headlines. The agent at the centre of all this is Mazhar Majeed. He is, frankly, a bit of a knobhead. The thing is, most of the headlines derive from things Majeed said
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