England v Pakistan, 4th Test, Oval, Day 3 - Pakistan are on top

I loved watching Mohammad Amir’s batting. He can bat and stay at the wicket. His defence is good and has the ability to play orthodox shots as well. He is the ideal number eight batsman for Pakistan. Younis Khan is showered with praises, but one should not forget how Amir supported him to reach his milestone.

Characters like Younis Khan are a rarity. Such characters are not a treat to watch, but are a vital cog in the team when the going gets tough. Their batsmanship are based upon sheer will  power. So many times, Younis Khan has been written off by the Pakistan Cricket Board and critics, but he always proved them wrong. The instances are many out there and having been privileged to watch the evolution of Younis from a promising prospect into one of the legendary batsmen of Pakistan, I confidently state, never dare to write off Younis Khan. Neither is he overrated nor his time is over. He is still good enough to take Pakistan cricket forward for a few more years. It was a great double ton and reminded me of Steve Waugh’s memorable hundred at SCG during the Ashes 2002-03 where he slapped his critics.

Misbah maneuvered his fielders very well during Mohammad Amir’s spell. Started off with a short leg and three to four fielders at slip, a point and gully and couple of deliveries later, it changed to two slips, one leg slip, short mid off and short square leg. I think, for Amir, such field setting is good, but not effective enough. Wahab should have been bowling on such a field setting. His extra pace and ability to reverse the cherry on such a weary track, would have been more effective. Again, during that passage of play (20 overs and onwards) when Yasir was on song, a Wahab-Yasir combination could have proved even more handy.    

Yasir Shah bowled outstandingly. He worked on his pace variation and utilized the foot marks intelligently to baffle the English batsmen. He released the ball slower and all of a sudden dished out the quicker one which didn’t turn to pluck three wickets. The googlies were not there, but the pace variation paid rich dividends for him.

I noticed dust on this track and this is not a good news for England. Such a track is helpful for Yasir and Wahab’s late reverse swing.

I think, England should rethink about the selection of Alex Hales and James Vince in future. Especially, Hales should be used only for the T20s. He is not a Test batsman.

Tough task ahead for England.

Pakistan are looking great.   

Thank You

Faisal Caesar