Pakistan vs England in United Arab Emirates - October/November 2015

[bigred]

I think Compton should be brought back in to open personally.

It's a close call for me between Compton and Hales, but I'd go for Hales purely because he's in the squad currently so should get a chance. He had a better domestic season than Compton also.

That still wouldn't solve the two middle order players required if Bell is to be dropped.

 

[IceAgeComing]

What's Stokes done in order to get dropped? He's had a couple of bad tests in a place where some batsmen struggle, performed decently with the ball (sure he wasn't a wicket taker but its the bloody UAE, Broad hasn't taken many either) then got himself injured so he can't do anything in this game. If he's fit for South Africa then I'd keep him around, he might be useful there

 

[cooks1st100]

It's a close call for me between Compton and Hales, but I'd go for Hales purely because he's in the squad currently so should get a chance. He had a better domestic season than Compton also.

That still wouldn't solve the two middle order players required if Bell is to be dropped.

Have Hales and Compton both in, with one batting at 3 then Root and Taylor at 5. I didn't realise that Hales had been scoring well this year in FC, just had a look at the averages. I'd quite like to see Hildreth brought into the squad, he's been scoring runs for years but he's not really of the age where England seem to debut players.

 

[cooks1st100]

What's Stokes done in order to get dropped? He's had a couple of bad tests in a place where some batsmen struggle, performed decently with the ball (sure he wasn't a wicket taker but its the bloody UAE, Broad hasn't taken many either) then got himself injured so he can't do anything in this game. If he's fit for South Africa then I'd keep him around, he might be useful there

I think this is on the assumption that he won't be fit to play

 

[IceAgeComing]

ah that makes sense now, the injury does look pretty bad

A quick rant: England are playing a one day game against the UAE and a T20 game against Hong Kong as warmups before the games against Pakistan, and despite the fact that the former has ODI status and the latter has T20 status they aren't being described as full internationals, which confused me. The reason is allegedly because England don't want to pay higher match fees in order to give the game full status which is quite frankly ridiculous considering they are the second richest board. I can see them making both into silly "whole squad plays" crap, and if they do I'll be very angry

 

[MUFC1987]

I think the issue with England going forward will be the other opener and a number 3. It's a lot to ask Taylor to step up to 3, considering he's literally just been put in the side. Add to that Root not looking great against the new ball and they should be kept at 4 and 5 for me. I think the option of bringing someone like Compton in to open would be sensible, the only problem being that he's not going to score that quickly, which seemed to be the issue last time. Personally, I'd like to see Hales come in and bat at 3. Someone who can be more aggressive, but with hopefully a bit of protection from the new ball.

Ali is the problem, in that it's hard to fit him in the side without having him at 8, which is a bit silly, with his ability. That being said, Stokes being injured could solve that problem (although hopefully he's not done anything too serious) in that Ali could bat at 6, with 4 pace bowlers to back him up in SA. Would be a good way to get a player like Woakes into the side too, without putting too much pressure on his batting.

 

[IceAgeComing]

so you're saying that it'd be silly to put taylor (a county number 3) in at 3 because he's just been put into the side, while giving hales his first test cap at 3 (a position i'm pretty sure he hasn't played regularly in ever) is good? I'm struggling to see the sense in that myself

 

[bigred]

so you're saying that it'd be silly to put taylor (a county number 3) in at 3 because he's just been put into the side, while giving hales his first test cap at 3 (a position i'm pretty sure he hasn't played regularly in ever) is good? I'm struggling to see the sense in that myself

Hales bats at 3 a lot in first class cricket. Probably more than he opened last year. Taylor batted a bit at 3 but was at 4 mainly.

 

[bigred]

The spinners are really letting us down on this tour. There's almost an argument to say we should only have played one spinner in all of the tests, and therefore not needed Ali to open.

 

[Dutch]

The spinners are really letting us down on this tour. There's almost an argument to say we should only have played one spinner in all of the tests, and therefore not needed Ali to open.

Its even a bit of an insult to call them spinners....the difference between what the pakistanis achieve on the same pitch is mindboggling.....england have let them off the hook here...

 

[blockerdave]

A shame Taylor couldn't go on this morning.

What a pity Monty threw his career down the drain... He'd be good here.

 

[Rehan_24]

What a strong comeback by Pakistan this whole day. So far so good

Let's hope the batsmen continue to capitalize on what is build and give a total of at least 300 by end of fourth day. Pak should bat till tomorrow's evening and give something like 1:30 hrs of batting to England tomorrow.

No wonder, Pakistan has the history of collapsing in such situations. Let's see what happens next. Till then see ya all

 

[Dutch]

A shame Taylor couldn't go on this morning.

What a pity Monty threw his career down the drain... He'd be good here.

Yeah Monty would piss all over a pitch like this....oh wait a minute....

 

[CerealKiller]

Shoaib Malik announces retirement from Tests | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo
Well, this is a big surprise.

 

[Rehan_24]

Khas Kem Jahan Paak > Better late than never thankfully

It will open room for young players like Shan Masood and others.