Surprised we haven't got a thread for this :ermm:

Looks like things are getting interesting. Pakistan are currently 314 for 7, 170 in the lead with just over a day to play. It's looking much more promising than when I got to w**k this morning, when they were 260 odd for 3 :ponder:

Still these 2 bats seem to be doing a good job of frustrating England :ponder:

I'd like to take the credit for the last wicket - it was of course the curse I placed on them by posting the above. :ph43r: :whistling:

Great captaincy though :thumbsup:

Well done Nick - keep it up :thumbsup:

332-9 :yahoo:



EDIT: and now 341 all out :yahoo:

198 to win, come on England! :thumbsup:

Well that was impressive :rolleyes: :lol:

we needed that kick up the arse, as one commentator wrote ''England believed their own publicity'' :rolleyes: :( :no:

Oooops :rolleyes:

I don't think that's fair tbh, I don't think the players have bought into the hype at all. Vaughan and Fletcher know only too well how much w**k is left to be done, they wouldn't allow it.

IMO, the lacklustre bowling performance on the third day and some ill-advised choices with the bat by the middle order (mentioning no names, Pietersen and Flintoff :whistling: ) cost us.

Freddie's comments the day before did sound arrogant though, no?

TBH they should have been realistic - the pitch was playing okay, they had a small target to get, etc. etc.

Only problem being for some stupid fekkin reason Fletcher thinks Collinwood can be relied on as a batsman and the remaining batters aren't in any sort of form :rolleyes:

I thought he was confident rather than arrogant ;)

They have to make the right noises. If they didn't do that the same commentator would no doubt be writing that the team was suffering a confidence crisis :rolleyes:

We should have had more runs in the first innings. After Tres and Bell set us up with a great partnership, none of the other batsmen applied themselves on a placid pitch and we were at least 50 runs short of a decent total. Chasing any kind of total on a fifth day subcontinental wicket is always dangerous, though we should have won the game. Still, the bowling performance was very good, especially without Jones who would love Pakistani conditions.

I fail to see why Collingwood is in the side, much less coming in at #4 - he only bowled 4 overs and made 13 runs. Pakistan is not a seamer-friendly place and Collingwood is a useful lower-order batsman at best. If we wanted the bowling option, then put Jimmy Anderson in the team - he'll swing the new ball with pace and reverse the old one. Or, seeing as we lost Vaughan as a batsman, stick another proper batsman in. I'd prefer the latter, so we'd have 6 front-line batsmen and a couple of useful lower-order batters to back them up.

Problem is Collingwood had a stormer of a first class season last season - played himself into the side if you ask me. If Bell has had the chances he's had why shouldn't Collingwood.

Also I reckon Bell won't get anymore runs on tour now as he doesn't feel his position is under threat. That's just a theory though.

I felt the need to watch the dvd of the Edgbaston Ashes test last night, just to cheer myself up :thumbsup:

"Jones!.......Bowden!" :yahoo: :lol:

'Cause Collinwood's crap ;)

The only reason to play an all rounder in the current England side given how good Flintoff is, would be if said all rounder is world class in either bowling or batting. Collinwood is neither imo - a useful County player but not quite up to scratch at Test level.

Well we certainly did our best to lose again :rolleyes:

and how, what the hell's going on? Strauss appears to be desperately short of form, but generally not everyone's firing at the same time.

I'm a little concerned about the top order. But things are looking up. Trescothick has looked in excellent form, despite that misjudgement in the second innings. I'm so pleased Bell is getting runs as I think he's a pretty good player. I don't think he's going to be one of the greats, but he's good enough to hold his place in the side.

I'm glad too that Pieterson and Flintoff are looking like they are getting back into some kind of form, and Jones and Giles are both looking reliable down the order. Harmison returning to form with the ball is good news too.

I think the big difference between the two teams has been the fact that Inzamam has won the toss on both occaisions, and that is a much bigger factor on the subcontinent than at home. Vaughan has a reputation for being a useless tosser :whistling: so lets hope that improves in the next test!

It would be interesting to see who replaces Strauss as he's heading home to have a baby. I expect it will be Collingwood, but I'm going to show my Essex loyalties and hope that Alistair Cook gets the nod. He really does look a special prospect. There was talk on the radio too, that Anderson or Plunkett may play, presumably ahead of Udal. (Although Giles is carrying an injury.) Nice to see 2 spinners, but England have been playing one spinner, along with 4 seamers and that's a formula thats worked well.

This series was always going to be a toughy, and I think England have done pretty well, considering the lack of form of some players. I'm going to back England to get a win and draw the series next week.

Andrew :yahoo:

I'd certainly be happier if they picked Cook but it looks like they're going to stick with Collinwood :frusty:

Nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks Bells got the makings of a decent player. Given the number of shot makers we've got we really need someone who can stick their head down and grind the runs out :)

:damnyou: When I left home this morning, England had just past the 100 without loss. By the time I got to w**k, it was 3 down. Gutted for Vaughan... he was playing so well.

Well done to Collingwood for proving us all wrong! I'm not entirely surprised as he's played a few good knocks in the one day side, and he has the temperament to grind out a long innings. I was just beginning to lose a bit of faith in him turning it on in the Test team. Lets hope he carries on tomorrow and gets a ton.

Udal can bat a bit, ( :thumbsup: for the 6 off Shoaib Akhtar in the last game!) as can Plunkett. Hoggard can hang around, and Harmison is good for a quick dozen flinging the bat. Wouldn't mind betting the England bowlers look a bit scary on this track which has more pace and bounce than the last two. Lets hope we bowl well and get a useful lead to set us up for squaring the series!

Andrew :yahoo:

71 not out :whistling:

Lucky b*stard :p - if he does well in the second innings or gets more than a token one wicket I'll get the first round in on Thursday :o ;)

Either of those occurrences would be a miracle :lmao:

:lol:

Realised a while after I posted this that the chances are we won't be batting in our second innings until late Thursday, so I've only got to worry about the wicket thingy :ph43r: :D

I don't think your deep pockets are in any danger :lol:

And next up against the wall are Flintoff and Pieterson, who bought in to the hype of how good they were without remembering to concentrate on playing cricket :rolleyes:

Bit disappointing but not unexpected, although I can't really understand why they both failed to adjust their games despite having 6 go's at it.

And okay Collinwood did well (with the bat anyway) for 1 match, I still don't think he's good enough though :ph43r: :lol:

I'm too appalled to continue typi...

That's okay the post was worth it for the av alone ;)

Englands tour of Pakistan can best be summed up with 'didn't we do well' :rolleyes:

Perhaps if they stopped patting themselves on the back for winning the ashes, some of the batsman would rediscover how to hit a cricket ball <_<

:lol: I'm sure they're suitably chastened. It might turn out to be good experience for them ;)

I suppose at least they've been honest enough to admit they've been outplayed :)

:ponder:

I thought that was worth dragging up again :ph43r: :lol:

Yeah, he's rubbish isn't he Dave