Pakistan vs England 1st ODI - Abu Dhabi

First topic message reminder :

Here we go then, can England score well against the spin heavy attack of Pakistan?

England to bat first. Bresnan isn't fit so James Anderson plays. Otherwise, as expected.

Prediction? Pakistan by 4 wickets.

Afridi has decided that its all on him now and he's going to play shots. Laces consecutive balls from Samit through the covers for four, Before Samit almost takes is leg stump, but Kieswetter can't gather it and it goes for four wides. Next ball Afridi goes to hit over long off, doesn't middle it and Swann shows Samit how the fielding is done...excellent take. Well and truly into the tail now.

still a totaly they can get in terms of runs needed and balls spare but they need these two to bat well and not do anything silly.

what is it about test victors falling short in the following odis- a pattern really is starting to form

SWANNYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

and people say odi's are dead

:facepalm

Swann gets Gul lbw at the third time of asking. Cheer up Graeme lad! It can't be that bad!

Swann and Patel don't get on that well do they?

Finn brought back to try for a Michelle...

been very impressed with cook with the bat, and he has rotated his bowlers well as well, brought them back at the right times, finn etc...

Run rate is climbing now.

don't seem to. Swann has history of rather admonishing fielders who make mistakes, and i'm afraid Patel makes a few.

this is good but even a whitewash won't make up for the shame of that test series.

lets hope they really were just underdone and can regain some respect in Sri Lanka. Doubt they can keep the no 1 spot now sadly. Poorly prepared i think and a little to sure of themselves, the beating will have done them good.

who tours us this year btw?

Finn obviously fed up of the tail-enders dead-batting techniques...

Pakistan are hanging on in there.. miracle come back on the cards?

Pretty soft end there.

Better performance from Eng today.

quality from england

ODI cricket is well and truly alive!

Good catch from Cook (Bopara clearly didn't fancy it too much) to seal it.

Pakistan never recovered from Finn's opening burst. Obviously not as easy a wicket to bat on as some thought.

Its all over after a bit of resistance from the last two. Slower ball from Broad skied by Ajmal, and captain Cook takes the catch.

Excellent day's cricket from England that goes some way to making up for the Test performance. All three disciplines were taken care of today. Some of the batters will be a little disappointed but excellent knocks from Cook and Bopara laid the foundations for a good total. Excellent bowling from the unit as a whole, with Finn's 4-34 from 10 the stand out. Fielding was top class other than a couple of incidents involving Samit.

Excellent start to the series from England.

Great win, well done England. Cook made 137, Pakistan made 130

Roll on Wednesday!

Remarkable that Knight states 'What a difference from the series in India', deluded state of mind. The whole World knows that Pakistan's batting is weak, the lower middle order is full of hitters. They can't bat 15-20 overs.

In India, England often had 10-2/20-3, but India's power packed middle order crushed England, most of all Dhoni. Pakistan don't have Dhoni.

Congrats gents. A little bit of confidence des you the world of good. Now onto the next - how much you want to bet on everybody choosing to bat first the rest of the series?

ShahenshahG wrote:Congrats gents. A little bit of confidence des you the world of good. Now onto the next - how much you want to bet on everybody choosing to bat first the rest of the series?

If Pak seamers bowl better, it won't make any difference

Demon Racer wrote:Pakistan don't have Dhoni.

And the award for observation of the year goes to.....

ShahenshahG wrote:Congrats gents. A little bit of confidence des you the world of good. Now onto the next - how much you want to bet on everybody choosing to bat first the rest of the series?

Hmmm, is that a spot-bet option?

Does anyone else think that Samit Patel looks like a thinner version of Vito Spataforte from The Sopranos?

thinner?

packofwolves wrote:

Demon Racer wrote:Pakistan don't have Dhoni.

And the award for observation of the year goes to.....

Wolves are going down, observation of the year...What do I win?

Demon Racer wrote:

packofwolves wrote:

Demon Racer wrote:Pakistan don't have Dhoni.

And the award for observation of the year goes to.....

Wolves are going down, observation of the year...What do I win?

A season ticket for the new stand...it's going to be empty in the championship anyway :| !


Bravo, well played etc etc

I am sorry to say"I told you so” but I said this morning England is going to surprise you

finny very impressive, yet again!!

Well that was convincing wasn't it? However without Cook we would have been pretty screwed, Bopara did well but should have been out stumped and LBW before he reached double figures. The batting is still our weak point but luckily the bowling still looks strong and we actually look like taking wickets which doesn't generally happen in ODIs! I still think Buttler will come into this team when fit but who would he replace? KP and Kieswetter look the weak links but harsh to drop either on one performance. Kies didn't look comfortable at all at number 6, not surprising really, perhaps Buttler will play there and keep wicket?

I don't think marks out of 10 work for individual ODIs so here's a one-line assessment of each England player's performance in this match:

Cook - Made batting look easy. Captained well too.
Pietersen - Iffy innings. Still needs to sort himself out against spin.
Trott - First ballers happen every now and again.
Bopara - Looked good. Bad shot to get out. Bowled well enough.
Morgan - Out cheaply again. Showed the right intent.
Kieswetter - Woeful innings in the situation. Kept well.
Patel - Good all round match. Bad drop.
Broad - As consistent as he always is these days.
Swann - Effective all-round display.
Anderson - Bowled accurately. Least threatening seamer.
Finn - Superb. Nailed down one-day place.

I'm really not sure Kieswetter is suited to number six - I think Bairstow, Buttler, Hildreth, Patel, and Stokes (when not injured) would do a better job in that position whilst debatably Trego, Wright, Durston, Roy and Maynard also come into the picture.

durston-

trego is good for international t20, but IMO wouldnt make it at odi level.

no one talking about davies any more -play him as opener with cook! and push everyone up to there natural positions??

i like woakes also, and prior should still be in the running an all- he has a good sr

mystiroakey wrote:
i like woakes also, and prior should still be in the running an all- he has a good sr

I'm with you on Prior. I don't think he's ever been suited to opening but he has a good strike rate, good scoring areas and plays well against the old ball. As Kieswetter is not playing as an opener, is prior not a better all round package to play in the middle order? He'd be perfectly happy at 5/6 accelerating the innings...thats his role in tests quite frequently after all.

I think Woakes needs an extra yard or two of pace/some variations to be successful in the sub continent. Davies too I like as an option to open. But that would require KP to be dropped and it seems that will never happen.

cricketfan90 wrote:durston-

Everytime I see Durston I like him as a one-day player. Since his stint with the Unicorns and now with Derbyshire he has re-invented himself. Big-hitter and useful off-spinner.

Some pure statistics from the CB40 on Durston:

2011 - 491 runs @ 40.91
2010 - 390 runs @ 39.00

If he wasn't playing for Derby, I bet people would be taking a bit more notice.

I wouldn't have him in, or really that near, my England team personally but feel he has a right to be considered in the same category as those with inferior records.

Similar stats for Bairstow:

2011 - 385 runs @ 38.50
2010 - 153 runs @ 30.60

Of course, Buttler's stats as a finisher are out of this world in the CB40:

2011 - 411 runs @ 137.00
2010 - 440 runs @ 55.00

"I think Woakes needs an extra yard or two of pace/some variations to be successful in the sub continent"

blimey didnt even know we had one player that was!

if buttler is fit for wednesday i would be tempted to replace kieswetter despite him having a good game behind the stumps

he just looks completely put of his depth with the bat

even when he does score some runs its mostly from edges or mis-hits

we won today but there are still obvious problems, when one of your openers scores 137 at a run a ball then you should be scoring more than 260

mystiroakey wrote:"I think Woakes needs an extra yard or two of pace/some variations to be successful in the sub continent"

blimey didnt even know we had one player that was!

Finn has done pretty well so far, in Bangladesh, India and now the UAE... but granted I see your point.

Woakes just looks too easy to hit to me, as it proved in the A tour in sri Lanka this winter. Take a look at his economies, they werent too pretty. I like the lad and he's a big threat when the ball swings, he just needs to work on what he does when it doesnt!

in fairness our bowling is at least good everywhere, its our batting-I look at woakes as a natural all rounder option

At the risk of repeating myself:

Statistics at domesti level don't mean that much, it is a completely different game out there (and not just because they play 50 and not 40 overs).

Prior for some strange reason has always been useless at ODIs, no matter where he's batted (opened, played 3, and batted 6 at the WC). Having said that his game has moved up a level the last 2 years, but he did have an extended run at the WC and just before and that didn't go too well. I'd have stuck with Kieswetter personally. If you pick Davies he must open. Buttler and Bairstow are genuine options also.

I'm no big fan of Patel and I don't think he's a real 10 overs man against the top sides. Unless England have another batsman who can bowl regularly (e.g. Bopara, I don't think you can constantly rely on Trott or Pietersen even for 2/3 overs) I'd like to see Bresnan at 7 and 4 genuine quicks, which is, after all, where England's strength lies. Broad and Swann at 8 and 9 give a decent tail anyway.

Durston? Bowling will be roughly as effective as Pietersen at that standard and there are at least 2 dozen better batsmen around on the county circuit.

Anyone else think Paul Stirling from Ireland will be given a call up when elegible? Big hitting top-order player who scored a fantastic 100 against Pakistan last year. Could be a challenger for Roy of Surrey who guilford assures us is the goods.

Bowling-wise you've now got Anderson, Finn, Broad, Swann and Bresnan. Broad and Bresnan are good death bowlers (which is good, because the other two aren't really). On turning wickets Briggs (Dockrell when elegible?) or Borthwick (although more of a test candidate for me), probably for Anderson.

I've already expressed my doubts about Woakes (his pace and length are too friendly at that level). Dernback is probably more of a T20 player. Meaker has a good future at test level, not so sure about ODIs. Another guy who might make the grade is Toby Rolland-Jones of Middlesex, who is a bit similar to Finn (tall, gets good bounce, hits the awkward back of a length), but sharper than Finn was at his age.

Mike Selig wrote:
Anyone else think Paul Stirling from Ireland will be given a call up when elegible? Big hitting top-order player who scored a fantastic 100 against Pakistan last year. Could be a challenger for Roy of Surrey who guilford assures us is the goods.

Bowling-wise you've now got Anderson, Finn, Broad, Swann and Bresnan. Broad and Bresnan are good death bowlers (which is good, because the other two aren't really). On turning wickets Briggs (Dockrell when elegible?) or Borthwick (although more of a test candidate for me), probably for Anderson.

I've already expressed my doubts about Woakes (his pace and length are too friendly at that level). Dernback is probably more of a T20 player. Meaker has a good future at test level, not so sure about ODIs. Another guy who might make the grade is Toby Rolland-Jones of Middlesex, who is a bit similar to Finn (tall, gets good bounce, hits the awkward back of a length), but sharper than Finn was at his age.

Frankly, no to Stirling. He is far, far too hit and miss - will be a good county and Ireland player but never an England prospect. Can't see Roland-Jones playing internationals either - He is already 24 and just looks like a good county bowler to me. We'll see about Meaker - SPIN magazine have been raving about his pace for years but Surrey don't seem to favour him and and his England call was a bit random.

abit suprise bairstow isnt getting more chances

mystiroakey wrote:in fairness our bowling is at least good everywhere

Pakistan's batting is weak, therefore England's bowler are being made to look good on sub-continental pitches. Look at the World Cup and the series in India, the bowlers got flogged everywhere.

ermm i dunno- i allways thought it was more a case of england not batting well enough or understanding how to pace an odi innings. India's bowling isnt close to being that good yet won the thing!!

the way we tore up south africa was immense, which showed we can rip into good batting!

i also think its unfair to judge england on the WC- the players were smashed up after the glow of the ashes win and got all bogged down with the battering in the odi's v australia.

now dont get me wrong i am not saying they are as good in the sub as back home- however i think they are at least good enough!

basically i agree that our bowlers arnt amazing in sub contenent conditions, however compare them to our batters there and they are 10 fold better