England poised to make some sort of history

Posted by
< 1 minute read

It might be an unlikely series-levelling victory; more likely it’ll be a defeat. Either way, someone somewhere will make a note and history will be made. History is always being made. On a personal level, we have a history of drinking tea and typing that stretches back at least as far as this morning.

Our overall assessment of this series is that England have generally made decent decisions and applied themselves well, but that Pakistan bowl better spin and also bat better against it. The tourists compete well in patches, but over time that fundamental gap will probably tell.

So what is there left to look out for?

Will Alastair Cook avoid being dismissed by Yasir Shah four innings in succession by surrendering his wicket to someone else? (Maybe)

Will any England batsman other than him make a hundred in this series? (No)

Will Samit Patel, powered by a majestic lunch, launch a reasonably impressive but ultimately inconsequential batting salvo before subsiding out of the side after this Test, never to return? (Probably)

Will Zulfiqur Babar concede less than a run an over? (Yes)

Will Jonny Bairstow continue playing the cut shot to him and Yasir Shah, even though doing so means it’s clearly just a matter of time before he’s dismissed? (Yes)

Will some sort of history be made? (Yes)

DON'T BE LIKE GATT!

Mike Gatting wasn't receiving the King Cricket email when he dropped that ludicrously easy chance against India in 1993.

Coincidence?

Why risk it when it's so easy to sign up?

9 comments

  1. It’d be nice to have a proper spinner, wouldn’t it? My number one assessment from this series is that The Mighty Moe isn’t actually a proper spinner, and needs some more training before he’ll become one; same with Adil Rashid; and that’s it’s too late for England’s biggest unit.

    Too early to start great white hope-ing Mason Crane? Too late?

    1. Might need a crane to lift England’s batsmen out of the mire they shall probably find themselves in tomorrow.

      1. Is there something in the Hampshire soil that grows spinners? It used to be Northants., didn’t it. Have Hampshire uprooted the Northants. pitches and run away with them?

  2. England will lose the series But these matches have arguebly been better test matches then the ashes series that we won.

    1. More intriguing perhaps, the matches being less predictable and in the balance for longer. Wouldn’t say any of them were ‘better’ than Trent Bridge though.

Comments are closed.