Pakistan finally put up a fight at Durham

By Gemma Wright

On the day that three of their players flew home, the rest of the Pakistan team finally showed up for a game. In their best performance since the spot-fixing scandal broke during the final Test at Lords, Pakistan gave England a run for their money in the first ODI. In front of a much improved crowd from the poorly attended T20 games in Cardiff, Pakistan fought to the final ball attempting to chase Englands’ 274 from 41 overs, after rain reduced the game.

His team’s performance should give Afridi some encouragement. Whilst they didn’t get the victory he has said they so desperately need to lift team spirit, they came pretty close. There are many positives that he can take from this game.

Saeed Ajmal bowled superbly, with figures of 4-58 from his nine overs. Pakistan’s performance in the field was much improved too. However, it was not all good news. Mohammad Irfan, the 7’1” left armer, bought in for the one day series, had a day to forget. After his first over went for 15, he managed just another 4.3 overs before cramp got the better of him and he left the field wicket-less. Afridi remained confident that he is “a very talented guy who will adjust himself as soon as possible”.

After being inserted, Strauss and Davies made a good start for England. Timing the ball well, they shot to 78 from the first 11 overs before the England captain was bowled trying to sweep Ajmal. Davies did his position as limited overs keeper/batsman no harm, top scoring with a superb 87, having been dropped on 21 by Afridi. Everyone, except perhaps Craig Kieswetter, will have enjoyed that performance.

Jonathan Trott has once again proved his worth with his 69 well paced from 78 balls. He has now well and truly established himself as England’s number three.  With a swift 35 at the end from Bopara, England looked strong with the bat. With players such as Ian Bell, Kieswetter, and Luke Wright waiting in the wings, there will be some tough selection decisions ahead for Strauss and Flower.

Collingwood remains the worry in this line up. He started well, smashing Umar Gul over long on for six, and taking out a wheelchair bound spectator in the process. But the batting powerplay quickly bought about his wicket for 14, and left him lacking in the runs column once again.

England may have issues developing in the field too. Whilst standards remain generally high, there have been fielding errors over the past week that could be much more severely punished this winter than they have been against Pakistan.

James Anderson, who missed out in the T20’s at Cardiff, was the pick of the bowlers for England. Michael Yardy remains one of Englands’ most reliable bowlers, keeping the run rate down. His position in the one day side is surely now established.

It was always going to be a tough call, chasing 275 to win. But the Pakistan batsman put in a much more dedicated performance than in Cardiff to keep within touching distance of the run rate. But in the end it was not enough, and regular wickets kept victory just out of reach.

Kamran Akmal, after a poor tour, has finally found the right end of his bat, hitting 53 from 61 balls. He caused early friction in the field, exchanging words with Trott and Broad. Englands’ and particularly Broads’ tendency towards this kind of behaviour in the field had quietned down since Broad was punished for his behaviour at the Edgbaston Test. It is something that England need to keep an eye on.

Worrying signs for England

These are meant to be golden days for English cricket. Fresh from
winning the World T20, they’ve also just defeated Australia in an ODI
series for the first time since the dawn of time. Give or take.

But, peer a little closer, and the stats aren’t so flattering. England
have now lost three of their last four ODIs. Their top order batting
appears brittle; their top-order bowling appears toothless and their
fielding has regressed since the excellent displays in the Caribbean.

Now it’s no disgrace to lose to Bangladesh. The visitors bowled very
well in Bristol and, on a pitch well suited to them, defended their
moderate total with admirable discipline. Besides, England were the
only major team they hadn’t yet beaten. This was bound to happen
sooner or later.

There are mitigating factors, too. England went into the game without
Swann and Pietersen, while Bell was unable to bat in any meaningful
sense of the word and Collingwood was dismissed by a terrible umpiring
decision.

But no-one should hide behind those issues. Because England also
benefited from some umpiring decisions (Collingwood should have been
given out, caught behind, first ball) and, by delivering 12 wides and
three no-balls, their bowlers proved generous to a fault.

Many of the top-order batsmen also played a large part in their own downfalls: Yardy’s shot, a hoick across the line, was especially ugly, but
Kieswetter’s loose drive, Morgan’s flick across the line and Strauss’
edged steer were also far from pretty.

Even more worryingly, their two senior bowlers – Broad and Anderson -
conceded 106 in 19 overs, while serious questions are starting to be
asked about the place of Luke Wright in this side. How on earth does
he keep a player as good as Bopara on the sidelines?

Andrew Strauss was not looking for excuses, however. Describing
England’s fielding as “poor” and their batting as “distinctly poor”,
he admitted they “only have ourselves to blame.”
“We were 10-14%, maybe even 20%, off where we should have been,” he
said. “But fair play to Bell and Trott, who have come into the side in
the last couple of games and shown the rest of us what to do. But we
can’t rely on one batsmen all the time.

“But I don’t want to show Bangladesh any disrespect,” he continued.
“They were outstanding. They played exceptionally well and they
deserved their victory.”
And what of Trott? Some will maintain he is one-paced and selfish. But
he now has three half-centuries in his last four ODI innings. And, in
a team where the top-order looks brittle, he could be just the man to
add steel to the batting.