Well, I left the house earlier this afternoon with England needing another 150-odd with all ten wickets standing. Surely a formality, with Strauss, KP, Bell and Morgan due a good score, and Cook and Trott already looking in reasonable nick. Plenty of time to defend the good balls and punish the bad; standard Test match target chasing. I was ready to write about the rebirth of Monty Panesar, England's match-winner....
Yes, but this is Test cricket 2012 and the usual rules no longer seem to apply. England had been murdered in the 1st game and they were on top after the first session of this week's Abu Dhabi duel in the desert. Of course I came home to find England committing the hari-kiri of old. Here I'm being rather unfair to Pakistan. Dubai had demonstrated the importance of intelligent spin bowling, with Pakistan offering a three-prong attack of off-spin and left-arm which left the world's number one team scratching their collective heads. Play back, get lbw. Sweep and miss, same outcome. Attack and you'll mistime and be caught. Time to get stuck in.
Cook and Trott showed the way in the first innings, establishing a lead of 70. Then when Monty wheeled away for more than 38 overs to take 6-62, it seemed that England had succeeded in playing Pakistan at their own game and sensible batting would give them the 145 they required. However, Misbah's men took the initiative straightaway, Mohammed Hafeez opening the bowling as he might in one-day cricket. He elicited a leading edge from Cook and took a low return catch himself. Saeed Ajmal landed Bell's wicket soom after but when left-arm action was introduced, both KP and Morgan fell within three balls, leaving England reeling at 37-4.
No worries, captain Strauss was still there, and both Trott and Prior to come, plus Stuart Broad's beefy strokes. Abdur Rehman simply continued where Panesar had left off that morning. The ball regularly beat the bat, thudding into either stumps or pad and the impossible was about to happen. The final five wickets tunmbled in ten extraordinary balls and Pakistan had won not only the match but the series.
Now they can really believe in themselves. The multi-spin attack has bamboozled the very best but can they reproduce that in South Africa? Australia? England? For England, there was the encouraging sight of Monty Panesar being deadly in accuracy and manic in celebration. He probably wouldn't even have played but for Tremlett's injury, yet he can be assured of a place in the next match. As before, I can't see any point in drafting in new blood with the bat. It's about application. The sides are fairly well matched but Ajmal and Rehman must be super-confident now, and the mental advantage is on their side. I can't see Pakistan making it 3-0 but their bowlers have performed admirably so far, the tails are up and spin is king!
