Pakistan's GREENWASH not complete yet

The 3-0 mission accomplished in the most significant format
was monumentally, pleasantly surprising jubilance which no one could have
seriously thought about in terms of a series score-line along those lines, but
the job is not completed yet by any stretch of the imagination and there is
more dominance to follow and many more victories although they won’t quite be
as resounding as the test ones, but ODI cricket is Pakistan’s forte which they
take equally as seriously. Generally the ODI format in this part of the world
has higher viewership, crowd attendances and genuine excitement. Going by how
pessimistic some of the England supporters are about their team’s chances in
the one day internationals which start next week over winning even a single one
day international let alone draw or win the 4 match series, there is almost
every chance for Captain Misbah’s Team Pakistan to whitewash the visitors in
ALL formats and end up with a 10-0 score line once the whole tour concludes on
Monday 27th February in Abu Dhabi.

England have been woeful in sub continental conditions and
lost 5-0 in India last year whereas in the World Cup only managed 3 victories
in 7 encounters. They are below the men in green on the ICC ODI rankings by
some way. Last two ODI series they have played against the men in green away
from home have ended in defeats for them. Cook and Broad are inexperienced
captains and England is vulnerable to spin on the slow and low wickets.

For the hosts majority of the overs will be bowled by the
slower men who control the flow of runs, take wickets and are consistently
reliable performers. It’s a squeezing process to overcome for the batsmen and
each of the trio of spinners is different which never allows you to settle as a
batter. With anything even over 200 on the board batting first and Pakistan
will fancy their chances by turning to their spinners under lights, who get
through their overs quickly not allowing batsmen to think on their feet, build
pressure with dot deliveries, can come on early with the new ball to surprise
the top order and with varieties in repertoire can break partnerships and cause
panic in the dressing room at any moment. Lastly, they also have the skill,
experience and confidence of bowling in the batting power play and can be
extremely difficult to get hold of and subsequently trigger collapses courtesy
of Saeed Ajmal’s mesmerising mysteries.

The off spinners Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez are ranked at 1 and 2 on the ICC ODI bowling
rankings which just shows how impressively they have delivery in ODI colours
over the last year whereas the multi talented leg spinner Shahid Afridi was the
2nd leading ODI wicket taker last year with 45 scalps in 27 outings
including 4 5 wicket hauls with his canny flattish sharp drifting leg spinners,
sliders and top spinners. The talismanic leg spinning all rounder has kept him
busy by playing for the Melbourne Renegades down under while the national test
team were up against Bangladesh and England and had a decent time of it over
there from a personal point of view. How well England can negotiate and tackle
these gifted, accurate and unorthodox spinners will be the deciding factor in
the brief ODI series. The Men in Green are firm favourites, looking forward to
the contests and the tourists will be up against it. We shouldn’t be surprised
to see Pakistan win this series 4-0. It will be a challenging ride for Cook’s side and even harder than what they were
up against during the test series which they’ll want to put behind them as
quick as possible after suffering the humiliation of a clean sweep.

The visitors will be taking on their Lions squad for a warm up fixture on Friday who have just
beaten the Sri Lankan A team 3-2 in a 5 match unofficial ODI series whereas
Misbah and company they will be heading to Sharjah for a one day international
against Afghanistan on the same day where they will be looking to dominate and
perhaps experiment.

Only 2 of 8 KP writers had The Asian Side definitely claiming the series in the preview which was published on the 3rd of
January titled: “England will be put through a tough Pakistan test”and that too
by only a 1 match margin with a 1-0 scoreline. 1 of our writers hesitatingly
sat on the fence at 1-0 either way, 2 said 1-1 including myself, 2 said 0-0
whereas one thought England would bag the series 1-0. Few of us expected
Pakistan to win the series, compete and draw respectably perhaps yes, but
winning it was not what we expected in all honesty. None of us said we would
win the series by a 2 match margin, but it turned out to be by a 3 match
margin. In the preview I also mentioned that 2 results was pushing it and 3
results was close to impossible, but as it stands the Greens have won all 3
tests with all 3 tests having results. We expected docile tracks, high scoring
draws and uneventful action, but it was nothing but fast paced test cricket with
wickets falling in clusters and tests continuously progressing forward towards
an outcome with every session and none of the 3 tests went into day 5 believe
it or not. 110 wickets fell in 11 days with over 3 wickets falling per session.


There were several reasons for this –

a) Highquality bowling, both teams bowled exceptionally and it was refreshing to see
some top class spin bowling in particular from both of the sides because as
Nasser mentioned we had seen some ordinary, average, mediocre spinners for some
time in world cricket, but here we had talented finger spinners from both sides
and a mystery bowler from Pakistan in the form of Ajmal who injected fear in
batsmen and posed some serious questions

b) DRS and batsmen being paranoid as a result of getting struck on the pad with a
record number of LBWs falling for a 3 match series in this tour

c) Out of form batsmen who were short of runs and confidence

d) England’s batsmen struggling to adapt to the slow paced nature of scoring rates in this
part of the world and lacking patience and application to play long old
fashioned dogged test match innings

e) Ajmal’spre series talk really playing in theminds of England’s batters

f) England’s preparation not being up to scratch while Pakistan were playing the Sri Lankans
and Bangladeshis as I incidentally said in my preview for why they had a slight
advantage over England coming into this series


g) England Not being able to lift themselves after losing 5 wickets in the opening session
of the series of their top 5 batsmen without 60 on the board at the lunch
interval with Ajmal bagging 3 wickets in his first 10 deliveries he sent down.
Starting a series well is so often so important for what goes to happen at the
end of it all


h) Underestimating the Pakistan team after the spot fixing scandal and how far they had come under
Misbah ul Haq and talking of underestimating they also did so for the Pakistani
bowler Rehman and Gul whereas they were taken a bit by suprirse by Hafeez who
got 5 left handers dismissed at just 16 as all the talk was surrounding Saeed
Ajmal

Combined Series 11

1) Mohammad Hafeez
2) Alastair Cook
3) Azhar Ali
4) Younis Khan
5) Misbah ul Haq (C)
6) Asad Shafiq
7) Matt Prior (WK)
8) Stuart Broad
9) Abdur Rehman
10) Saeed Ajmal
11) James Anderson

Pakistan’s ODI Squad

Batsmen

Misbah ul Haq (C)
Younis Khan
Azhar Ali
Asad Shafiq
Imran Farhat
Shoaib Malik (added on the request of Misbah ul Haq)

Wicket Keepers

Umar Akmal

Adnan Akmal

All Rounders

Mohammad Hafeez
Shahid Afridi
Hammad Azam

Fast Bowlers

Umar Gul
Wahab Riaz
Aizaz Cheema
Junaid Khan

Specialist Spinners

Saeed Ajmal
Abdur Rehman


Sessions WON

Pak 21
Eng 12

1st test: 6-3 Pak
2nd test: 6-6

3rd test: 9-3 Pak


Pakistan's cricket captain Misbah-ul Haq gestures as he holds the trophy after victory in the third and final Test match between Pakistan and England - AFP

Pakistan's cricket captain Misbah-ul Haq gestures as he holds
the trophy after victory in the third and final Test match between Pakistan and
England - AFP

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An imaginative angle to Pakistan’s English white wash

Once upon a time Pakistan cricket ruled the world. In eighties and early nineties they challenged the very best. After an agonizing period of underachievement in best part of late nineties came the worst phase when they became pariahs of the cricketing world. But then fortune changed as success started to smile upon them again.
Pakistan, often, can do what others only dream of – in both success as well as failures. A whole decade from 1999 to 2010 was marred by controversies, shocking defeats and underachievement. The young generation will remember that era like ‘once upon a time we were so rubbish’, but a true fan or a chronic follower of Pakistan cricket will only give it a passing reference though in a sad and touching way. There is so much in Pakistan cricket that it cannot be ignored as a product. The brand has always been attractive and will always be.
By thrashing and ‘green-washing’ England, Pakistan has signaled return back to the golden days. Tomorrow’s historian will remind his readers by saying ‘once upon a time World’s number one team was rolled over by Pakistan who were isolated to the edge of the cricketing fraternity’. That will be the time when true merits of this huge success would be realized. They say when we are too close to a thing we cannot appreciate its true value.  Today we can celebrate this victory and term it a huge one but its grandiosity will continue to increase with each passing day. The reason being this win is a harbinger of something special to come. As a cricket lover and follower I can sense that.
It is team Misbah. Misbah has surprised even his biggest fan by becoming the central figure of Pakistan’s success. The man who enjoys love and hate relationship with his fans has come out as a messiah for his beleaguered team. Merely two years ago, after being overlooked in the squad of 35, he was contemplating retirement and wanted to burn his kit out of frustration. After the manic events of 2010 in which spot-fixing saga shook the cricket world, he became the logical choice, and the only reasonable one, for captaincy. His calmness, friendly nature and strong mind turned a bunch of individuals into a fighting unit.
The task has just begun. We have seen enough desolation. Now is the time to rise and shine. The victory achieved in the Arabian Desert should not go to waste. Under Misbah, the team will achieve more and continue its ascendancy. But the test is what next after Misbah and the current bunch. We need to plan a smooth transition in the next two years. If we can mastermind that effectively, we would be able to say proudly somewhere in the future, ‘we were invincible once upon a time’!

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India tv response After Pakistan 3rd test Against England on 6th feb 2012

Reaction of Indian Media After Pakistan 3rd test Against England on 6th feb 2012

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England needs to learn from humiliation: Strauss

"We are disappointed that we have not coped better to the challenges that came our way," Strauss said. (Reuters Photo)

DUBAI: England captain Andrew Strauss has called on his underperforming batsmen to learn from its struggles on the spin-friendly pitches in the humiliating series loss to Pakistan with Test tours to Sri Lanka and India looming.

Pakistan clinched its first whitewash against England with a clinical 71-run win in the third and final Test on Monday, having won the first match by 10 wickets and the second by 72 runs in a series in which a fifth day's play was never required.

"We are disappointed that we have not coped better to the challenges that came our way," Strauss said. "This is a good eye-opener for us and good wake-up call that things are not easy in this part of the world."

The subcontinental-like pitches in the United Arab Emirates took spin from the first day, and England will need to improve before its trip to Sri Lanka next month and its tour of India later this year.

England hasn't won for a decade in India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka, mainly because of its batsmen's inability to conquer slow, turning tracks on which the ball doesn't come on to the bat.

"English sides generally have not played well in these sort of conditions in the past," Strauss said. "We need to break that tradition and we are not going to do that by doing the same things."

Strauss hit 150 runs in six innings, featuring in one of only three half-centuries scored by England's top six batsmen in the series.

England's batsmen had no answer to the brilliance of offspinner Saeed Ajmal and left-arm tweaker Abdur Rehman, who combined for 43 wickets in the series.

Ajmal had claimed he would unveil a mystery delivery in the series, but in the end it wasn't required with his "doosra" - a delivery disguised as an offbreak that actually turns away from the right-handed batsman - doing the damage.

"I haven't been involved in any series where so many of our batsmen have had a hard time as much as this one," Strauss said. "We have all got some questions to answer individually, some soul searching and thoughts to put into how we can do things better.

"Pakistan bowlers are quite unique," he added. "They are different type of spinners. They made life difficult for us and when we did get in front of them in the tests, they were able to wrest the initiative back in their favor."

England had won six straight test series _ including a 4-0 whitewash of India _ and then took a five-month break before arriving in the UAE to take on a Pakistan team which had drawn with South Africa in 2010 and defeated Sri Lanka in October.

The team had an ideal chance to level the series in the second Test when requiring only 145 runs to win, but Rehman and Ajmal combined to skittle out England's batsmen for just 72.

While hinting there may be changes for the Sri Lanka tour, Strauss is happy with the players he has been leading.

"Look, nobody has the right to play for England forever," Strauss said. "I think it's important for us to take some time to let the dust settle, start thinking about what went wrong individually.

"I still believe that, by and large, the best players in England are here in Dubai."

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Pakistan vs England - England 'Greenwashed'

Pakistan completed ‘Greenwash’ of England by thrashing them on the fourth day at Dubai in the third Test. No side since 1907 has won after making fewer than 100 in the first innings of a Test - a feat last achieved by England against South Africa at Headingley 105 years ago.

Match Report – Day4, 3^rd Test, Dubai, February 3-6(7), 2012

Pakistan’s start of the fourth day was shocking. Two chances went begging - Adnan Akmal's fumble behind the stumps to catch Strauss and Umar Gul's failure to catch Cook, on 28, at deep backward square.
Pakistan struck through the dismissal of Andrew Strauss who fell in the sixth over of the morning, lbw on the back foot to Rehman. Strauss reviewed it but the on-field umpire’s decision remained firm. Jonathan Trott and Alastair Cook threatened to build a stand but Ajmal removed Trott.
Trott, while sweeping Saeed Ajmal's doosra from outside off, top-edged to deep square-leg fielder Abdur Rehman, who flung the ball into the turf to vent disappointment of earlier drops.  Meanwhile, in the morning session, Cook became the second youngest person, at 27 years and 43 days, to reach 6,000 Test runs. Only Sachin Tendulkar has reached the landmark at a younger age.
Kevin Pietersen joined Cook and was looking dangerous as he flexed his muscles and started to attack. Saeed Ajmal produced an orthodox off-spinner on a good length in the 61^st over’s last ball which bowled Pietersen through that gate curtailing Pietersen’s brief stay at the crease.
An over later, Saeed Ajmal removed Alastair Cook. Cook, while playing a ball towards leg, gave an edge which was caught at slip by a flying Younis Khan. Morgan and Bell then provided resistance but that wasn’t enough to stop an energetic Pakistan.
Umer Gul produced a half-tracker outside off-stump which Bell lobbed tamely to cover point where Asad Shafiq ran to his right to take a sitter. Then Gul removed Morgan who faintly edged towards Adnan Akmal.
After tea, Stuart Broad, while trying to play a big shot against Gul, gave a catch to Taufeeq Umer in the deep. Graeme Swann, then, drove a Gul delivery but was caught at point by Asad Shafiq who took a smart catch low down. 
Matt Prior and James Anderson frustrated the Pakistanis with their brief stay but Ajmal removed Anderson who was caught by Younis Khan at slip. Then Rehman removed Panesar to complete the Greenwash!

Summarised Scores:
Pakistan 99 and 365 beat England 141 and 252 (Prior 49*, Gul 4-61) by 71 runs
Hero of the Day: Umer Gul
Disappointment of the Day: Kevin Pietersen  
Flop of the Day: Ian Bell
Man of the Match: Azhar Ali
Man of the Series: Saeed Ajmal

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England in danger of losing world No 1 status after miserable Pakistan whitewash

England's lead at the top of the ICC's Test rankings has been cut to a solitary point following their series whitewash against Pakistan.
On 125 points going into the three-match series in the United Arab Emirates, England slipped to 118 and now hold just a one-point margin over second-placed South Africa, who can now usurp Andy Flower's men ahead of the April 1 end-of-season awards and claim the £110,000.

Bad day at the office: England lost the three-match series against Pakistan

To do that, the Proteas would have to win their series against New Zealand next month 3-0.
Pakistan, meanwhile, move within striking distance of the top four in the world after leaping from 99 points to 108, just three behind India and Australia.
They also now hold a 10-point margin over sixth-placed Sri Lanka, their next Test opponents in May and June.

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Pakistan whitewash England with third Test win

 

DUBAI: Pakistan's bowlers sealed an emphatic 71-run win in the third and final Test against England on Monday; inflicting a 3-0 series whitewash humiliation in the process.

Set a daunting 324-run target, England were bowled out for 252 with paceman Umar Gul taking 4-61 and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal (4-67) to help Pakistan achieve a first-ever Test clean sweep against their opponents.

With the ball turning again it was always a difficult task for England's batsmen, who have been unable to play the Pakistani spinners throughout the series, on a weary fourth day pitch at Dubai Stadium.

Pakistan won the first Test by ten wickets and the second by 72 runs in Abu Dhabi.

Pakistan have also become the first team to win a Test after being bowled out for under 100 since 1907 when England, shot out for 76, beat South Africa at Leeds.

It was England's seventh series whitewash, their first at the hands of Pakistan. Pakistan have now recorded five series whitewashes, their last coming in a 3-0 win over Bangladesh in 2003.

England's last series whitewash came in 2007 when they were routed by Australia 5-0.

So dominating have been Pakistanis spinners that Ajmal finished the series with 24 and Rehman with 19.

England, 89-2 at lunch, were still in with a chance with Alastair Cook (49) and Kevin Pietersen (18) batting well but they lost four wickets in the space of 84 runs. They went to tea at 173-6.

Pietersen, who struggled for runs in the series, hit Abdul Rehman for a boundary and then hoisted him for a six to post England's 100. But Ajmal struck from the other end.

The off-spinner produced a beautiful delivery to bowl Pietersen through the gate for 18. He had a mere 67 runs for the series during which he was out to spinners on five occasions.

In his next over, Ajmal produced another sharp turning delivery which caught the edge of Cook's bat and was smartly held by a diving Younis Khan in the lone slip.

Ian Bell (10) and Eoin Morgan (31) added 37 for the fifth wicket but again failed to produce a big score in the series as Gul dismissed them in the space of just three runs.

Pakistan took the second new ball at 196-6 and the first ball saw Gul dismissing Stuart Broad (18) and then Graeme Swann on one.

Matt Prior remained not out at 49 when Monty Panesar was dismissed by Rehman for nine.

England had looked for big partnerships after resuming at 36-0 but that never transpired.

Pakistan could have wrapped the match earlier had they not dropped two crucial catches, the first off Strauss on 26 when wicket-keeper Adnan Akmal grassed a simple chance off Gul.

But that didn't hurt Pakistan as Rehman trapped England captain in the very next over. Strauss challenged the decision by Australian umpire Steve Davis but his review failed.

Gul then let off Cook at 24 when he failed to hold a top-edge sweep off Rehman.

Cook had also benefited from a dropped catch on Saturday when Taufiq Umar let him off in the third slip off a miscued drive off Gul when he was four.

Ajmal then broke a dangerous looking 37-run stand between Cook and Jonathan Trott (18) by forcing a top-edge sweep which was smartly snapped up by Rehman at square-leg.

The teams will now play four one-day and three Twenty20 internationals.

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Pakistan v England: Gul and Ajmal seal whitewash

England slumped to a 71-run defeat in the third Test in Dubai to suffer a series whitewash by Pakistan for the first time.

Set 324 to win, the England top order was undone by spin before Umar Gul (4-61) ripped through the middle order.
Alastair Cook (49) offered some resistance, only to succumb to off-spinner Saeed Ajmal (4-67).
Matt Prior showed late aggression and was unbeaten on 49 as England were bowled out for 252.

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Pakistan Whitewashes England 3-0 defeat England by 71 Runs

Dubai - humari news, Pakistan defeated England by 71 runs in 3rd test against England and whitewashed England 3-0 in the series.This is a new record that a team who bowled out 99 in first inning and than defeated his opposite team in the match.Afridi congrates Pakistan team talking with HUMARI NEWS.He said that Pakistan team is going on a right path and Pakistan will now aiming to white wash England in ODI too.Pakistan team creates a history after whitewashing England.England is ICC TEST no.1 side.Defeating England and with whitewash is not an easy job like eating a piece of cake.A team who defeated Australia & India is now defeated by ICC no.4 side PAKISTAN.Fans of Pakistan is now too much happy and glad with their teams performance against ICC no.1 test side England.

Note: Same post and also more about Pakistan team whitewash England available at  http://pakihungama.blogspot.com/2012/02/pakistan-whitewashes-england-3-0.html

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