The Hindu : Sport : Asif has England on the ropes

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 18, 2006

Sport

Sport

Asif has England on the ropes

Ted Corbett

Snares Strauss, Collingwood, Pietersen in a fiery spell

LONDON: Inzamam-ul-Haq won the toss and asked England to bat in the fourth Test at the Oval on Thursday and, when his new ball bowlers found their most dangerous line and length soon after lunch, he had clearly made the right decision. The openers were out for 56 and Kevin Pietersen went first ball; what more could any captain want. The fighter Paul Collingwood lbw for five, I guess.

Three wickets to Mohammad Asif, who has been out of action for three months, bowled 13 overs in the bounce without any obvious distress and had three for four in 11 balls. Alastair Cook, the top scorer with 40, was lbw ten minutes before tea when England was 134 for six and in peril at the start of its last Test before the Ashes.

The overhead conditions — heavy cloud blown by a brisk wind — promised help for the new ball bowlers but Inzamam must have weighed the chance that there would be wear in the pitch if his men had to bat last — just as there was when Muttiah Muralitharan bowled out 16 England players in 1998 and Phil Tufnell spun the Australians to defeat in 1997. But, 2-0 down in a four-Test series, Inzamam took a chance, both with Asif, and the hope that his seamers would bowl out England so cheaply that the fourth innings conditions would be immaterial.

Even better

It might all have been even better for Pakistan if Asif had been given an lbw decision against Marcus Trescothick before he was off the mark off the fourth ball of the day; in other words two balls into the second spell after the rain break. Darrell Hair, whose judgement on decisions is often found to be almost perfect, would have nothing to do with the passionate appeal — Asif on his knees, Inzamam at first slip screaming — and the replays showed that Hair was right, but only just. The ball would have gone over the top but the umpire was tested to his limit and looked worried afterwards.

Both batsmen were quiet, although Strauss hit two lovely fours. Trescothick, who has not been in form for most of the summer, made only four of the 27 scored before a second rain break and the decision to take an early lunch.

Asif and Umar Gul had bowled pretty well but too many balls swung wide and could be left; both batsmen offered extreme caution. I was just beginning to think that Trescothick looked at home when he carved at a ball from Gul and was brilliantly caught by Mohammad Hafeez at third slip. All the websites had said what a good fielder Hafeez was when he was called up this week.

Akmal redeems himself

We could not have known that the real Kamran Akmal would be behind the stumps. Strauss, who had been completely safe apart from one scramble to avoid a run out, stretched for a ball on off stump and edged it towards first slip.

Akmal, with perfect timing that contrasted with his miserable attempts to keep wicket in the last two Tests, dived and took the ball one-handed. The next ball to Pietersen rose off a length, zipped off the edge of his bat straight into Kaman's gloves. He gave the game away by whipping round to see if the ball had been caught. His only other duck in the second innings against Australia at Old Trafford last summer.

The hat trick slipped away and the new boys Ian Bell and Cook tried to rebuild the innings. Asif's first spell ended at 13-3-39-3 but Danish Kaneria's fourth ball got Ian Bell caught at silly point on the day he hoped to score his fourth century in successive Tests.

SCOREBOARD

England — 1st innings: M. Trescothick c Hafeez b Gul 6, A. Strauss c Akmal b Asif 38, A. Cook lbw b Nazir 40, K. Pietersen c Akmal b Asif 0, P. Collingwood lbw b Asif 5, I. Bell c Iqbal b Kaneria 9, C. Read (batting) 26, S. Mahmood (batting) 1, Extras (b-4, lb-1, nb-4) 9, Total (for six wkts at tea) 134.

Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-54, 3-54, 4-64, 5-91, 6-112.

Pakistan bowling: Asif 13-5-39-3, Gul 12-2-39-1, Nazir 11-1-44-1, Kaneria 6-1-7-1.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport