Ramiz Raja has called this pitch embarrassing. Sounds like the remainder of the series will be similar but that they're hoping to improve them by next year.
English cricket thread
- Thread starter Samid
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The ICC should deem that venue unfit for test cricket.
On pitches like this, you could add an element of intrigue by setting maximum overs per innings. Would actually be a really fun watch.
Would like to see in the event of a draw, highest run average wins.
That’d get them playing!
Pakistan could come out of this fairly well in the long run. Bat for the next two days and completely Traveller out the English bowlers ahead of the next test.
With around 15 overs being lost to light every day it shouldn’t be problem for England. 10 overs a piece each day for Anderson & Robinson, 20 odd for Leach and split the remaining 35 between Stokes, Jacks, Livingstone and Root.
We also have Wood to return next test, so it’ll be fine.
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294 runs the difference after the same amount of overs.
Do we not have any other full time spinners we could've taken along with Leach? What's happened to Parkinson?
Seems a bit weird to have Jacks as a main bowler and batting at 8?
Seems a bit weird to have Jacks as a main bowler and batting at 8?
Congratulations Pakistan, wait 17 years for this crap.
England winning this
Parkinson should have gone. It’s a struggle in terms of others at the moment.
If the pitches are all like this it might be another 17 years before England are back 
Wickets falling now.
I think they twigged Parkinson was too slow for international cricket during his debut when he subbed in for Leach. Luke Wood was being trusted with more overs than him at the end of last season so I think his confidence is low.
The initial plan was to get Rashid and Moeen back but that didn’t happen, so they’ve gone down the route of picking part timers and packing the batting and hoping that Pakistan collapse under the weight of runs England score.
In terms of long term spin options, I take the way England have selected Rehan Ahmed to be an implicit acknowledgment from Key & McCullum that they feel the county game is incapable of developing young spinners and they are better off bringing young spinners into their environment and developing them from there.
Virdi from Surrey was the other one who has played well in County Cricket and should have been selected.
England to smack it out the park for the next 2-3 hours. Declare with a 350 lead by tea and it will be an interesting final day.
Or they could collapse in a heap for under 100. It’s boom or bust.
No chance. Rauf is injured. Naseem apart this bowling lineup is pure garbage.
Why are there changes to the Pakistan bowling line up? Where are Shaheen Shah Afridi and Yasir Shah?
Afridi injured and is recovering from an op. Shah has been out of form for quite some time.
Commentators stopping to read advertising during live play?
Afridi got injured in the final. Shah is old and shite but probably not any worse than the spinner they have in this game. They need to play the mystery spinner in the next match.
Is Afridi the only one missing? What happened to Abbas? Not up to date with their test bowling lineup.
Abbas is slow and ineffective on these pitches. On top form it would be Shaheen, Naseem and Hasan Ali (also struggling with form/fitness). Nawaz as the defensive spinner (no idea why he isn’t playing here) plus one more attacking minded spinner.
Ideally Shadab would be in there but a lot of these cricketers only really play the shorter formats and don’t have the endurance or fitness for tests.
Thanks, not up to date on the Pakistan test bowling status.
The pitch is so flat. England need to set 400 here.
Batting with your dominant hand isn’t very Bazball. Brook should be dropped for such insubordination
They’ll declare at 350
Wish stokes would give himself a few deliveries to get himself in before going into T20 mode
I agree but I'm a bit worried we will give it a go at 370/80
I can see England contriving to lose this 
Of course, that would be so England.
Of course, that would be so England.
Brook looks a very very special player
Bazball is absolutely brilliant fun
His t20 mode is so much slower than his test mode
I wouldn’t be surprised, in fact I would say it’s a great possibility given how flat this deck is. However it’s the ethos the team is playing under, to try and go for the win best you can and that’s a risk. It’s different to previous England teamsI can see England contriving to lose this
Of course, that would be so England.
Yeah, surely being aggressive doesn’t preclude taking a couple of overs to just get the pace of the ball.
342, not a bad prediction