Having dismissed the opposition twice in just over 100 overs, England crucially go one-up in the four-match test series against Pakistan. Pakistan succumbed in less than three days as their fragilities were exposed and exploited by the England attack. A victory margin of an innings and 20 runs can be quite pivotal with regards to the outcome of the series.

Inzamam ul Haq won the toss and chose to bat – a toss which Ian Botham said ‘a good one to lose for England’. There had been much speculation about the nature of the pitch at Old Trafford. Bob Woolmer used marble slabs in the nets to make his batsmen feel at ease with the expected high bounce and fearsome pace of Steve Harmison. Yet Pakistan’s shortcomings in testing conditions were on display once again.

Losing the openers early has become habitual with Pakistan. The decision to send Kamran Akmal to open in order to accommodate Younis Khan in the starting eleven was appalling. Both the openers went for drives and, instead, walked their way back to the pavilion. Younis and Lord’s hero Mohammad Yousuf combined in a useful partnership that seemed to get Pakistan back on track. However, Yousuf’s dismissal trying to cut Monty Panesar started the downfall. Younis went in the next over and Pakistan were four down at lunch. Things never improved afterwards as Pakistan folded for a paltry 119. Bar Inzamam, none of the batsmen fell to any great delivery. Instead, they only had themselves to blame for the atrocious shot selection. Steve Harmison led the riot with 6 for 19. Panesar, nearly dropped from the side, had three wickets to his name with Kaneria being run-out.

England came out to bat under no pressure whatsoever. Even though Marcus Trescothick fell early, the partnerships kept on building as Pakistan went on the defensive. Sami and Gul were ordinary, looking threatening in short bursts. It seemed as if it was a completely different pitch altogether. The fielding never improved from Lord's as three more catches were dropped. Andrew Strauss (42), Kevin Pietersen (38) and Paul Collingwood (48) – all got starts but failed to capitalise. Alastair Cook (127) and Ian Bell (106*), however, were uncompromising. Both of them brought up their second consecutive centuries. Even their tail wagged enough to take them to 461 for 9 when Strauss declared. Gul picked up three wickets whereas Razzaq and Sami had two apiece. Kaneria struggled to exert any pressure, returning with only the cheeky Harmison wicket.

Pakistan, 342 runs behind with a minimum of 274 overs left in the game, only the predicted Manchester rain could save them from a sure-shot defeat. However, with no rain in sight, Pakistan started their struggle on a yet-again lively pitch. Kamran Akmal once again fell early, signalling to Woolmer’s think-tank to drop him down to his customary number seven slot. Farhat’s edgy knock of 34 ended when he inside-edged Panesar to Ian Bell. With Younis looking confident and Yousuf hitting a couple of elegant boundaries plus dark clouds hovering over, Pakistan seemed to have some hope of taking the game further than expected. This was only to be proven wrong immediately after lunch as Yousuf fell over to Panesar and was smartly stumped by the under-pressure Geraint Jones. Inzamam’s broad shoulders could not brave the pressure for the second time and Faisal Iqbal alongwith his vice-captain decided to attack. Panesar was back to haunt them once more as he accounted for both the batsmen. Harmison polished off the tail and Pakistan wrapped up for 222.

Monty Panesar and Man-of-the-Match Steve Harmison had five-wicket hauls as they shared 19 wickets between them. With nine wickets to Panesar, there seems little justice in blaming the bouncy track for the downfall. Instead, bizarre shot selection added with a submissive attitude contributed towards the defeat. Afridi’s outrageous dismissal in each innings could lead to his ouster from the side given his bowling hasn’t been satisfactory even. The depleted bowling attack has also looked spineless and drastic changes could be seen at Headingley. For England, things couldn’t have been any better, specially in the absence of Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff. The teams have a longer-than-expected break before the Headingley test and Pakistan have lots to think about if they are to make a comeback in the series. England, on the contrary, would be relishing the moment as they try to avenge their series-defeat in Pakistan last winter.

© Copyright 2006. PointCricket.