Insomniac
Title Recipient
Lets go Pakistan :P
Story England's International Season [c2005] - Eng's tour of Pak
- Thread starter m_vaughan
- Start date
- Status
m_vaughan
Chairman of Selectors
England announce team for Pakistan tour
Anderson, Plunkett and Udal earn England call-up
England have named four uncapped players including veteran Hampshire spinner Shaun Udal in their 17-man Test squad for the tour of Pakistan.
The others are Durham's Liam Plunkett, off-spinner Alex Loudon from Warwickshire and Sussex's Matt Prior. James Anderson is also named in the touring party.
Chairman of selectors David Graveney said a number of spinners were considered, including Graeme Swann, Batty and Richard Dawson, before deciding on Udal, who played the last of his 10 one-day internationals in 1995.
"Udal is a guy who has been involved in county cricket for a long time," said Graveney of the 36-year-old off-spinner, whose 36 Championship wickets this season have cost 20 runs each.
"Spinners can play at that sort of age and statistics will show that Udal by far is the performance bowler at the present time, which is why we want him to go." Loudon, an England Under-19 captain six years ago, is an off-spinning all-rounder who has added the 'doosra' to his repertoire since leaving Kent last year, primarily because of a lack of opportunities. His Championship haul this season is 26 wickets at 41.
The Test squad contains 11 of the 12 players who guided England to a 2-1 win against Australia in the Ashes, as Simon Jones misses out due to injury. Chris Tremlett who was in the Ashes squad, but has yet to play a test match, has also been ruled because injury.
In the one-day squad Vikram Solanki is given another chance to impress, while Gough's decision not to travel looks to have handed Plunkett an early chance to shine on the international stage.
England arrive in Pakistan on 26 October, with the first Test, in Multan, beginning on 12 November.
The first of the five ODIs, which follow the three-match Test series, starts on 10 December.
Meanwhile, a total of 12 players have been awarded 12-month ECB contracts. They are Michael Vaughan, Ian Bell, Collingwood, Ashley Giles, Andrew Flintoff, Matthew Hoggard, Stephen Harmison, Geraint Jones, Simon Jones, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Strauss and Marcus Trescothick.
Team Squad:
England Test squad: Michael Vaughan (captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Stephen Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Geraint Jones, Simon Jones, Alex Loudon, Kevin Pietersen, Matthew Prior, Andrew Strauss, Liam Plunkett, Marcus Trescothick, Shaun Udal. England one-day squad: Michael Vaughan, James Anderson, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Stephen Harmison, Geraint Jones, Simon Jones, Kevin Pietersen, Matthew Prior, Liam Plunkett, Vikram Solanki, Andrew Strauss, Alex Wharf, Marcus Trescothick.
Anderson, Plunkett and Udal earn England call-up
England have named four uncapped players including veteran Hampshire spinner Shaun Udal in their 17-man Test squad for the tour of Pakistan.
New boys - Udal, Plunkett, Loudon and Prior
The others are Durham's Liam Plunkett, off-spinner Alex Loudon from Warwickshire and Sussex's Matt Prior. James Anderson is also named in the touring party.
Chairman of selectors David Graveney said a number of spinners were considered, including Graeme Swann, Batty and Richard Dawson, before deciding on Udal, who played the last of his 10 one-day internationals in 1995.
Back in the fold: Lancashire's James Anderson
"Udal is a guy who has been involved in county cricket for a long time," said Graveney of the 36-year-old off-spinner, whose 36 Championship wickets this season have cost 20 runs each.
"Spinners can play at that sort of age and statistics will show that Udal by far is the performance bowler at the present time, which is why we want him to go." Loudon, an England Under-19 captain six years ago, is an off-spinning all-rounder who has added the 'doosra' to his repertoire since leaving Kent last year, primarily because of a lack of opportunities. His Championship haul this season is 26 wickets at 41.
The Test squad contains 11 of the 12 players who guided England to a 2-1 win against Australia in the Ashes, as Simon Jones misses out due to injury. Chris Tremlett who was in the Ashes squad, but has yet to play a test match, has also been ruled because injury.
In the one-day squad Vikram Solanki is given another chance to impress, while Gough's decision not to travel looks to have handed Plunkett an early chance to shine on the international stage.
England arrive in Pakistan on 26 October, with the first Test, in Multan, beginning on 12 November.
The first of the five ODIs, which follow the three-match Test series, starts on 10 December.
Meanwhile, a total of 12 players have been awarded 12-month ECB contracts. They are Michael Vaughan, Ian Bell, Collingwood, Ashley Giles, Andrew Flintoff, Matthew Hoggard, Stephen Harmison, Geraint Jones, Simon Jones, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Strauss and Marcus Trescothick.
Team Squad:
England Test squad: Michael Vaughan (captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Stephen Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Geraint Jones, Simon Jones, Alex Loudon, Kevin Pietersen, Matthew Prior, Andrew Strauss, Liam Plunkett, Marcus Trescothick, Shaun Udal. England one-day squad: Michael Vaughan, James Anderson, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Stephen Harmison, Geraint Jones, Simon Jones, Kevin Pietersen, Matthew Prior, Liam Plunkett, Vikram Solanki, Andrew Strauss, Alex Wharf, Marcus Trescothick.
S_Harmison
International Cricketer
Welcome back Vaughnie, like many others you are the one who inspired me to start writing stories back when we were playing c2004.
Good luck for the tour, Pakistan are always a hard team to beat!
Good luck for the tour, Pakistan are always a hard team to beat!
, didnt he retire? anyways looking forward to the threadS_Harmison said:
i second that. vaughan was the one who got me interested in writing the stories. he has set the standard for a long time now and im sure this story will be as good, probably even better than the previous threads.
lovely build up as well. injuries add to the realism nicely
m_vaughan
Chairman of Selectors
England starts comment ahead of their Pakistan tour
Top England cricketers have expressed their views on England's upcoming tour of Pakistan and the prospect of a second series win after the last team led by Nasser Hussain returned victorious.
Michael Vaughan, England captain:
"It's a different type of cricket and we're going to have to be at our best to get used to the conditions quickly."
Andrew Strauss, England opener:
"Beating Pakistan at home is one of the toughest challenges, especially since most of us have no experience of playing in conditions they have in that part of the world."
Ian Botham, Former All rounder:
"This tour is really going to test the England cricketers, as clearly the wickets there could well exploit England's lack of a world class spinner, and also their inability to tackle wrist-spinners."
Geoff Boycott, Former opener:
"Once again, it all depends on the form of players like Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison and Kevin Pietersen. These are England's match-winners."
Kevin Pietersen, England middle order batsman:
"Pakistan know that they will have to play at their absolute best throughout, if they want to beat this England side. We are going there to win."
Ashley Giles, England's premier spinner:
"I did enjoy bowling on those conditions in the tour of 2001, and I hope that I can pick even more number of wickets this time around."
Top England cricketers have expressed their views on England's upcoming tour of Pakistan and the prospect of a second series win after the last team led by Nasser Hussain returned victorious.
After the Ashes triumph, it starts all over again for Michael Vaughan's England team
Michael Vaughan, England captain:
"It's a different type of cricket and we're going to have to be at our best to get used to the conditions quickly."
Andrew Strauss, England opener:
"Beating Pakistan at home is one of the toughest challenges, especially since most of us have no experience of playing in conditions they have in that part of the world."
Ian Botham, Former All rounder:
"This tour is really going to test the England cricketers, as clearly the wickets there could well exploit England's lack of a world class spinner, and also their inability to tackle wrist-spinners."
Geoff Boycott, Former opener:
"Once again, it all depends on the form of players like Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison and Kevin Pietersen. These are England's match-winners."
Kevin Pietersen, England middle order batsman:
"Pakistan know that they will have to play at their absolute best throughout, if they want to beat this England side. We are going there to win."
Ashley Giles, England's premier spinner:
"I did enjoy bowling on those conditions in the tour of 2001, and I hope that I can pick even more number of wickets this time around."
m_vaughan
Chairman of Selectors
Flashback: The Tour of Pakistan 2000-01
Nasser Hussain leads his team to series win
However, the English batsmen showed that they could play the Pakistan spin attack and compiled innings of around 350 or more runs in each Test. The English were also not cowered by large innings by Pakistan. Their batsmen applied themselves and mostly matched the Pakistani batsmen in each Test.
The first two Tests ended in tame draws as both captains adopted safety first tactics. England, in particular, seemed content to bat at their own pace of around 2.3 runs per over for as long as it took with little consideration of setting the game up for a result.
The lifeless pitches that were produced by Pakistan for this series can carry much of the blame for this. Both the Pakistan and English attacks contain some talented bowlers.
On these lifeless pitches, neither side was able to penetrate or apply consistent pressure on the batsmen while in the field. Only on the last day of the series did the bowlers find something extra to dismiss Pakistan for the lowest total of the series.
Throughout most of the series, Pakistan out-batted the English. They either set imposing first innings totals or managed to answer any English total with an innings of equivalent or larger size. Pakistan also batted at around 2.9 runs per over through the series compared to the much slower English batsmen with 2.3 runs per over. It was not until the final innings of the third Test that Pakistan's batting let them down.
Nasser Hussain leads his team to series win
Nasser Hussain become the first England captain to win a test series in Pakistan in the last 35 years, after his team won the third and final test match at Karachi by 6 wickets to clinch the 3 test series 1-0.
It was a win that will remain in the memory, not just because England emerged victorious from the series but, indeed, for the circumstances in which Nasser Hussain led his team to triumph with Graham Thorpe paving the way. This was Pakistan's first ever defeat in the 46-year history of the National Stadium in Karachi.
The top performer for England in that tour was Ashley Giles who topped the bowlers list with 17 wickets from 3 matches. Michael Atherton was yet again England's rock with the bat, and he was well supported by Graham Thorpe. Darren Gough was a key figure in the bowling department.
The tour of Pakistan could so easily have ended in disaster with many things stacked against England. They have been infrequent visitors to the subcontinent; their batsmen are not known as players of spin; and they were well known for fragile batting under pressure.
However, the English batsmen showed that they could play the Pakistan spin attack and compiled innings of around 350 or more runs in each Test. The English were also not cowered by large innings by Pakistan. Their batsmen applied themselves and mostly matched the Pakistani batsmen in each Test.
The first two Tests ended in tame draws as both captains adopted safety first tactics. England, in particular, seemed content to bat at their own pace of around 2.3 runs per over for as long as it took with little consideration of setting the game up for a result.
The lifeless pitches that were produced by Pakistan for this series can carry much of the blame for this. Both the Pakistan and English attacks contain some talented bowlers.
On these lifeless pitches, neither side was able to penetrate or apply consistent pressure on the batsmen while in the field. Only on the last day of the series did the bowlers find something extra to dismiss Pakistan for the lowest total of the series.
Throughout most of the series, Pakistan out-batted the English. They either set imposing first innings totals or managed to answer any English total with an innings of equivalent or larger size. Pakistan also batted at around 2.9 runs per over through the series compared to the much slower English batsmen with 2.3 runs per over. It was not until the final innings of the third Test that Pakistan's batting let them down.
Overall, Pakistan should look to the lack of penetration of their bowlers as the weakness that lost them the series. The lifeless pitches nullified both pace attacks and when it became apparent that the English batsmen could in fact play spin on subcontinental pitches there was little they could do.
sid_19840
International Coach
Good luck with the story,seems pretty good with the level of detail put in.I havent seen any of your previous stories though,but this one has the makings of a really good one.
nightprowler10
Executive member
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- Nov 8, 2004
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You definitely did your research.
Johann
Club Cricketer
Welcome back from me as well! Looking forward to a great tour here!
Are you using any patches? I find it less easy to win a series with c2005.
Are you using any patches? I find it less easy to win a series with c2005.
ashu2411
International Coach
good job
m_vaughan
Chairman of Selectors
I had watched almost every ball of that series. So knew exactly what happened in those three matches.saisrini80 said:
I will be using AI patches which will make it difficult to score boundaries. Am still testing Eddie's.Johann said:
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