England in the UAE

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Fixtures

Mon Oct 5 - Tue Oct 6
England XI v Pakistan A
Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Thu Oct 8 - Fri Oct 9
England XI v Pakistan A
Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Tue Oct 13 - Sat Oct 17
1st Test - England v Pakistan
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Thu Oct 22 - Mon Oct 26
2nd Test - England v Pakistan
Dubai International Cricket Stadium

Sun Nov 1 - Thu Nov 5
3rd Test - England v Pakistan
Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Sun Nov 8 (50 ovs)
England XI v TBC
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Wed Nov 11
1st ODI - England v Pakistan
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Fri Nov 13
2nd ODI - England v Pakistan
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Tue Nov 17
3rd ODI - England v Pakistan
Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Fri Nov 20 (
4th ODI - England v Pakistan
Dubai International Cricket Stadium

Mon Nov 23
England XI v United Arab Emirates
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Thu Nov 26
1st T20I - England v Pakistan
Dubai International Cricket Stadium

Fri Nov 27
2nd T20I - England v Pakistan
Dubai International Cricket Stadium

Mon Nov 30
3rd T20I - England v Pakistan
Sharjah Cricket Stadium



Squads

Test squad:
Alastair Cook (Essex, capt), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Zafar Ansari (Surrey), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire, wk), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire, wk), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), James Taylor (Nottinghamshire), Mark Wood (Durham).


ODI squad:
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex, capt), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire, wk), Sam Billings (Kent, wk), Jos Buttler (Lancashire, wk), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), James Taylor (Nottinghamshire), Reece Topley (Hampshire), David Willey (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).


Twenty20 squad:
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex, capt), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Sam Billings (Kent, wk), Jos Buttler (Lancashire, wk), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Stephen Parry (Lancashire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Reece Topley (Hampshire), James Vince (Hampshire), David Willey (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).

I look at that side in these conditions and would only back Cook and Root to score runs. I could see Broad doing well but Ali and Rashid taking wickets at a high cost (e.g. 3-90 sort of figures). Finn is a big loss I think.

Think we are huge outsiders anyway, so I suppose I won't be too disappointed if we get smashed as that's my expectation!

Is there any point in selecting the 4th seamer when theres 2 and half spinners who should cover at least 50% of the overs?
1 of Wood or Stokes for Taylor.

As other have noted dropping Buttler should also be an option to squeeze more batting into the side, his form is rank and theres not much between him and Bairstow with the gloves. Its not going to happen though.

It looks paper thin on current form and far too light on proper batsmen if they go with 3 specialist seamers.

Have to say I'd have Jimmy Taylor in for Stokes. Don't think we need the 4th seamer with 2 spinners and root if needed.

Bairstow/Buttler is a coin flip for me

Gooseberry wrote:Is there any point in selecting the 4th seamer when theres 2 and half spinners who should cover at least 50% of the overs?
1 of Wood or Stokes for Taylor.

As other have noted dropping Buttler should also be an option to squeeze more batting into the side, his form is rank and theres not much between him and Bairstow with the gloves. Its not going to happen though.

It looks paper thin on current form and far too light on proper batsmen if they go with 3 specialist seamers.

Completely disagree with this bit. Bairstow's keeping isn't up to international standards IMO. Buttler's is. Buttler may be in poor form but he'll come good, he's a classy player. He also managed to score a few in the second warm-up which hopefully will give him some confidence.

I do (slightly) favour Taylor for Stokes, but I don't think England will (particularly given Stokes seems to have been given the key position at slip to the spinners).

Disappointed to see Finn missing out. Pakistan have already lost Azhar Ali, and Yasir is doubtful. Think Azhar's loss is a big one in the batting department, and if they lose Yasir as well, then it will pretty much be an even game to start with.......

Talk is that Wood will play and Taylor may come in for Buttler just to urine everyone off.

Theory seems to e that its hot and doesnt always spin that much, so the seamers will need rotating in what could e a slow scoring at long game. Getting the extra proper batsman in is important on that basis too

Pakistan win toss and bat.

England line up as expected, Pakistan without Azhar Ali and Yasir Shah. In farcical news Pakistan only had two spinners in their squad - tried to get a replacement out for Yasir but were unable to get a visa sorted - so playing with just one spinner.

Repeated issues with sight screens means we have had about 10 minutes of inactivity in first hour.

Pakistan opener fails to cope with a jimmy bouncer deflecting it onto the stumps from his helmet grille.

Bell shells a 29/30 catch off Jimmy.

Durham pair replace the opening bowlers and not as tight in their lines and lengths. Broad bowled 17 dot balls in his 3 over spell.

Looks like a bum steer from cricinfo on the Buttler selection. Englands batting looks paper thin.

Pak won the toss, batted first and barring a miracle this game is gone for Eng.

( remember the discussion on eliminating toss to avoid the games being very one sided based on toss outcome??)

otehr observations

Eng is palyign 6 bowlers....means woefully short on in form innings building batters.

Taylor not in the palying 11....wow....unbelievable.

tail starts at no. 1 with Ali opening

Wood and Rashid...easy runs for Pakistan.

Im confuswed by the logic of giving him the longest spell of the day despite only having one over going for less than 4 runs and creating no chances or even real mis strokes. They must have a real theory about Wood and one of the these two current batsmen but they dont seem to have been troubled by him at all, and with Rashid leaking runs and struggling for consitency at the other end its running away from England rapidly here.
Just seems so odd theyve chopped around the bowlers to begin with then settled on the least effective combination so far to bowl the first proper spells. I guess there is the chance that Rashid will make something from nothing but the Pakistan batsmen dont have to take risks.

Rashid turning at least one an over square and whistling past the edge - but also leaking a boundary each over. Not bowled the googly yet.

Ali and Broad bring some control ... 4 overs for 5 runs (4 of which came off an edge), bit of reverse swing for Broad...so bring back Rashid to leak 5 in 1.

Sigh.

In some ways, unfair to judge Rashid in the opening session of his first Test here - let's see how he goes as the game progresses. There again, I rather set my stall and doubts out early in the summer - nothing to change my mind so far.

Btw, I smiled at Atherton's description of the over rate as ''funereal''. Not sure that Mad for Chelsea would have done though!

VTR wrote:I look at that side in these conditions and would only back Cook and Root to score runs. I could see Broad doing well but Ali and Rashid taking wickets at a high cost (e.g. 3-90 sort of figures). Finn is a big loss I think.  

Think we are huge outsiders anyway, so I suppose I won't be too disappointed if we get smashed as that's my expectation!

It certainly looks as if patience will be the name of the game. A batting side should never turn down runs but we are going to need more than a quick 60 biffed by Ali. Occupation of the crease so important.

Similarly with the bowling, I again believe we need a more durable and tidy element in the attack. Fear that although Ali and/or Rashid can burgle a wicket, they won't run through Pakistan or keep it tight enough to properly support the seamers.

KP_fan wrote:Pak won the toss, batted first and barring a miracle this game is gone for Eng.

( remember the discussion on eliminating toss to avoid the games being very one sided based on toss outcome??)

otehr observations

Eng is palyign 6 bowlers....means woefully short on in form innings building batters.

Taylor not in the palying 11....wow....unbelievable.

tail starts at no. 1 with Ali opening

KP_f, good of you to be so supportive of Bell. I'm sure he'll be pleased to know that his drop of Hafeez has made no difference to the outcome.

I think Rashid is doing what is expected, he will bowl some potentially wicket taking balls, but will also overpitch and drop short a lot so is a strike bowler not someone to keep an end tight.

The pitch appears to be a road, but I bet it won't look like that when England get in and start prodding around on it. Lord's Ashes Test earlier this year anyone?!

To be fair Ali, Broad and Anderson have been very economical, and even Wood and Rashid havent been smashed around the park even if they have gifted a lot of boundary balls.

Cant fault England for a lack of bowling resources, the real issue here is going to be getting the runs required to stay in the game. If the ball is spittinga round in the 4th innings ( Im being optimistic and assuming we will get that far)

Gooseberry wrote:To be fair Ali, Broad and Anderson have been very economical, and even Wood and Rashid havent been smashed around the park even if they have gifted a lot of boundary balls.

Cant fault England for a lack of bowling resources, the real issue here is going to be getting the runs required to stay in the game. If the ball is spittinga round in the 4th innings ( Im being optimistic and assuming we will get that far)

Obviously accept those three have been very economical. The issue though I have is that the seamers can only bowl in short spells whilst Ali and Rashid can't be relied upon to keep it tight (even though Ali has so far).

It's not the lack of bowling resources but the appropriateness of it that I question. Rather than Rashid, I would prefer Tredwell or someone of his ilk, even Batty.

I take your point about England needing to get the runs to stay in the game. That's really where I was coming from earlier about occupation of the crease being so important.

PS When will Sky realise that Botham being a household name does not make him even a half-decent analyst?

VTR wrote:I think Rashid is doing what is expected, he will bowl some potentially wicket taking balls, but will also overpitch and drop short a lot so is a strike bowler not someone to keep an end tight.

The pitch appears to be a road, but I bet it won't look like that when England get in and start prodding around on it. Lord's Ashes Test earlier this year anyone?!

VTR - don't disagree with that at all but question whether he and Ali are a reliable combination. Neither imo can be relied upon to keep an end tight. In these conditions where the seamers can only bowl short spells, I feel we need someone who ticks that box.

guildfordbat wrote:

VTR wrote:I think Rashid is doing what is expected, he will bowl some potentially wicket taking balls, but will also overpitch and drop short a lot so is a strike bowler not someone to keep an end tight.

The pitch appears to be a road, but I bet it won't look like that when England get in and start prodding around on it. Lord's Ashes Test earlier this year anyone?!

VTR - don't disagree with that at all but question whether he and Ali are a reliable combination. Neither imo can be relied upon to keep an end tight. In these conditions where the seamers can only bowl short spells, I feel we need someone who ticks that box.

Agree entirely, they both have potential to be hit out of the attack, leaving the seamers with a horrible job. I wonder if Rashid will even take a wicket in this match?

Hang on hasnt Ali been keeping an end tight? (ok they have started to go after him now, but at least they are upping the risk factor to do that)


3 of englands bowlers who have bowled nearly 2/3 of the overs between them have gone for less than 3 an over.

Gooseberry wrote:Hang on hasnt Ali been keeping an end tight? (ok they have started to go after him now, but at least they are upping the risk factor to do that)


3 of englands bowlers who have bowled nearly 2/3 of the overs between them have gone for less than 3 an over.

Yes, he has and I've already acknowledged that. My issue is not with how he's currently bowling but the balance of the attack and whether Ali can reasonably be expected to continue to provide that economy. That issue arose long before this Test started.

England are going to get hammered in this test. This isn't going to be pleasant.

Duty281 wrote:England are going to get hammered in this test. This isn't going to be pleasant.

Probability of that happening would have been far less if Eng had not lost the lottery of a toss and forced to bat 4th on what will be a seriously spin friendly pitch by D4 and D5.

But instead as visiting team were given the choice to bat first in the first and the third test of the series

Ali to Younis Khan, SIX, leaps out and hammers the ball beyond the deep midwicket boundary - that's the record, Younis Khan becomes Pakistan's leading Test run-scorer, passing Miandad! What an emphatic way to get there, breaking a mark that has stood for more than two decades, flowing swing of the bat and the ball landed in the stands¨

what a career.....well played, the last man standing from the generation of Kallis, Ponting, Clarke, Lara, tendulakar, Mahela, Dravid and Sangkarra.....

guildfordbat wrote:

Gooseberry wrote:Hang on hasnt Ali been keeping an end tight? (ok they have started to go after him now, but at least they are upping the risk factor to do that)


3 of englands bowlers who have bowled nearly 2/3 of the overs between them have gone for less than 3 an over.

Yes, he has and I've already acknowledged that. My issue is not with how he's currently bowling but the balance of the attack and whether Ali can reasonably be expected to continue to provide that economy. That issue arose long before this Test started.

Once a team is well set on the best part of 200 -2 on a road in the heat Im not sure theres many players who can do that. Its not a lock of economy that costing England this innings, its a lack of wickets ( to be fair they have squandered a couple of chances)

With this batting line-up, I think England will be rolled out fairly cheap whether they bat first or second.

Difficult day for England's bowlers - not too surprising , after losing the toss on a bit of a road , in hot conditions.
Have to say though that the seamers have stuck to their task pretty well ; Broad and Anderson notably more economical of course , but I think Wood has looked quite likely at times , without actually breaking through ( perhaps one might say that sums up his Test career so far , if one wished to risk being thought uncharitable ) . And Stokes does have a wicket . Jimmy , of course should have had two in the first half hour : how costly was that Bell clanger !
The spinners have performed as expected - or as feared. Moeen quite tidy but not very dangerous ; and Rashid living up to his reputation by supplying far too many four balls...

Broad with a valuable break through as I type - well done , deserved that

Duty281 wrote:With this batting line-up, I think England will be rolled out fairly cheap whether they bat first or second.

You may be proved correct , Duty. But apart from not selecting Taylor (I would have had him in for Buttler ) it is difficult to see who else could have been picked. Ali may not be the answer at No 1 - though perhaps we should give him a chance before we condemn him ? Cook Root , maybe Bell ? He used to be able to bat Who else for the key batting spots ? And with the two keepers , Rashid Stokes and Broad they do bat down to nine...I am not going to assume they'll be all out for 150 ; and I certainly hope they aren't even contemplating such an underachievement.

Do you swap extreme optimism for complete defeatist acceptance as soon as they leave Heathrow these days ? Suppose the recent record justifies it , but I have to look twice to see if I have the poster correct

Review now : Misbah survives I think ... Wonder what a hotspot camera would have revealed ?

Anderson asking questions. Oh ! Given out !

251/4 as England fight back late

I think he did edge that , tbh. But without hotspot I didn't expect it to be given. Hard to imagine what the sound was if he didn't get a touch ; but they don't usually give those if the standing umpire says not out.
Anderson has shown his value today despite the general view that this pitch would nullify him. Glad they didn't take any notice of Vaughan and "rest" him for this game. Generally a bad idea not to pick your best bowler

If England could prise another one out now they could call this a pretty good day...

alfie wrote:Review now : Misbah survives I think ... Wonder what a hotspot camera would have revealed ?

Anderson asking questions. Oh !  Given out !

251/4 as England fight back late

Hi Alfie - seemed out to me on (countless) replays, just couldn't see any gap between bat and ball at the crucial point. There again, umpire's call, burden of proof that he is wrong and all that?! Very difficult but I think the right decision in the end.

Currently 260/4. In the absence of any road map from Craig, feel we would be pleased if this first innings journey ended with Pakistan all out for under 400. Possible at this point ....

Hi again Alfie - re your follow up post. Bumble on Sky here thought the third umpire was influenced by the sound.

thought it was out, and I'm watching it with no sound. Seemed to be a small deflection right where the ball passes the bat (if you look carefully the ball changes direction ever so slightly) and no sign of a gap between bat and ball. If there's also a sound (which didn't look like it could have been much else), then I think it's a good call.

England have stuck to their task OK today, the seamers have been very good. If they could nick another wicket or two before the close they can at least be satisfied with their efforts, though still face an uphill task in the match...

Yes , guildford. I'm on Sky too so listening to Bumble...he didn't seem confident of the decision being made though , did he ? I agree with you it was the correct call.
Think they need one more tonight if they're to keep Pakistan under 400 ; backing up tomorrow will be tough after a hot day in the field. And I'm not expecting much from the spinners , at least in this first innings.

alfie wrote: Wonder what a hotspot camera would have revealed ?

Probably that the entire ground is an oven!

So Bell only needs to make roughly a double hundred to make up for the 2 absolute sitters he has dropped. Not good enough at all, should be nowhere near the slip cordon!

alfie wrote:Yes , guildford. I'm on Sky too so listening to Bumble...he didn't seem confident of the decision being made though , did he ? I agree with you it was the correct call.
Think they need one more tonight if they're to keep Pakistan under 400 ; backing up tomorrow will be tough after a hot day in the field. And I'm not expecting much from the spinners , at least in this first innings.

And we should have had one - oh, Ian Bell what a shocking day!

Oh no ! Time to get Ian Bell out of slips...

He owes Jimmy a fair few beers today. And seriously that drop was worse than the early one . You'd have to say he has cost England a good day . Really not good enough ; and not as if these drops are isolated instances.
286/4 ; should have been 5.

Well played Malik And Hafeez earlier. And well bowled Anderson in particular.

I wonder if Bell is really up for this. Those drops are the kind of thing that happens when someone isn't mentally quite there. Maybe this is a tour too far? If he fails with the bat he could justifiably be dropped, this might be his last Test match?

If he is unjustifiably dropped in the same we he shelled those two then he might avoid getting justifably dropped.

In the end not as bad a day as it couldve been and perhaps not as bbad a performance as the scoreboard suggest from England.
They have kept the run rate under control, even Rashid has managed to claw his rate back a bit, and have created more good chances than the wickets column suggests.

Its hard to see them avoiding defeat here but at least they arent getting blown away and are showing that the seamers can get something even in these conditions. The 6 bowler lien up does seem correct given the extreme heat, the lack of Taylor in the batting line up though isnt going to help their cause. Pakistan may be rely a lot on part time spinners, but they are as good as Englands part timers.

well on the face of it.....not a bad day for Eng to have plucked out 4 wickets....and in quite likely case they might bundle Pak's fragile lower order for about 360 odd in best case to a 400ish most likely.

but the problem...on these type of pitches...every 1st inning run is worth a run and a half of 2nd / 3rd innings run and 2 times the 4th inning runs.

so even if Eng go at par they will concede a 100 run lead in the first inning......and they will still be too far behind in the 4th inning.

The only chance for Eng is to do a monumental first inning.....get a 50 to 70 run lead on the back of the kind of 100s that Cook and KP cracked in India....and then they are even going into the 4th inning.

Tough scenarios.....from an Eng point of view

Ian Bell's slip catching has been poor for a long time now I'm surprised he is still in the cordon.

Bell's new tactic of dropping catches is a bold one. Let's see how it pays off over time

I would say not a bad day at all for England. Massive blow for Pakistan that they are missing Yasir Shah. Shoaib Malik did make up for Azhar Ali with the bat, but they don't even have a reserve spinner to come in for the led spinner who is injured. And England will have to bat last on this track, the ball is likely to turn, and Pakistan don't have the bowlers for the days 4 and 5....... Is Hafeez allowed to bowl? Malik can also bowl semi-decent offspin, but if Root and Cook are in, he won't be good enough.
Pakistan need to bat through to tea at least tomorrow. But then, their lower order isn't the greatest going around, and beyond Sarfraz, there is not much batting to come. England have the new ball, and Anderson has bowled brilliantly by the look of things. If they can get a couple of early wickets, Pakistan can collapse to around 350 that won't be enough on a flat track like this. If Cook gets in and Root gets going, it will be a tough task for Pakistan without Yasir. Zulfiqar Babar is a decent spinner, but more of a holding type. Doesn't have the attacking abilities of a Yasir. So if the England batsmen apply themselves, they should be able to deal with him without much issues on days 2 and 3 especially.

Good catch MSP, I forgot Hafeez was under a ban. It does leave Pakistan light on bowlers

alfie wrote:

Duty281 wrote:With this batting line-up, I think England will be rolled out fairly cheap whether they bat first or second.

You may be proved correct , Duty. But apart from not selecting Taylor (I would have had him in for Buttler ) it is difficult to see who else could have been picked. Ali may not be the answer at No 1  - though perhaps we should give him a chance before we condemn him ? Cook Root  , maybe Bell ? He used to be able to bat Who else for the key batting spots ?  And with the two keepers , Rashid Stokes and Broad they do bat down to nine...I am not going to assume they'll be all out for 150 ; and I certainly hope they aren't even contemplating such an underachievement.

Do you swap extreme optimism for complete defeatist acceptance as soon as they leave Heathrow these days ? Suppose the recent record justifies it , but I have to look twice to see if I have the poster correct

Well I would have liked Taylor and Compton to be picked. The only English batsmen one can trust for this series are Cook and Root, but I fear the burden will be too great for them.

Defeatist acceptance? Just realism, unfortunately!

Who broke duty? Own up!

Oh let's give it a go then.

Good day for England. Should be targeting to skittle out Pakistan for under 400 - the middle and lower-order of the home side won't be able to muster too much of a defence against the revitalised English attack.

From there, the Ashes champions should be targeting 550+. With Cook and Root, two world-class batsmen who will overhaul Tendulkar in good time, leading the charge it should be more than achievable. The once magnificent, and still considerable, Ian Bell will be terrifically motivated to right the wrongs of three years ago (and today!) in his best position of number three.

Ali and Bairstow can be solid and dependable. I have a feeling Pakistan won't have prepared too heavily in assessing their weaknesses; to their utmost detriment, it shall be!

And if, which I have every confidence, England do prepare a most wonderful platform - say 350/4 or 420/5 - then Buttler and Stokes will have every opportunity to attack with great gusto and exuberance. Rashid and Broad can then polish it off.

Pakistan are batting too slowly, and have lost too many wickets, to put England under any psychological distress. Cook's lads should certainly aim for a 100-150+ run lead which should be all they need.

I'm mystified as to the odds of 7/1 on England winning. Genuinely bewildered.

For while the tired waves, vainly breaking
Seem here no painful inch to gain,
Far back through creeks and inlets making,
Comes silent, flooding in, the main.

And not by eastern windows only,
When daylight comes, comes in the light,
In front the sun climbs slow, how slowly,
But westward, look, the land is bright!

Come on England!