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[Stuey]

Adil Rashid will only get better from here.

I really think ECB is missing their former spin coach, Mushtaq Ahmed. With young spinners, he would have really flourished them and they would have improved leap and bound! These guys need a good mentor who can tell them about spin bowling outside English conditions.

I was thinking this too, we have an ex seamer as a bowling coach with an experienced seam attack in Anderson and Broad but no spin coach with 2 inexperienced spinners (at test level) who are expected to take a bulk of the wickets, doesn't make sense to me. I would have thought the could have drafted in an ex spinner from the sub continent or even vettori or Warne.

[alexhilly1492]

vettori is going to be working with the performance program so that makes sense hed have been invalubale on this tour, rashid and ali look like part timers at the minute

[alexhilly1492]

2 maidens all game for moeen and rashid, joe root comes on and bowls one first up england really need a deceent spinner!

[rickjames]

I need a drink.

[csnew]

Rashid back on! Fill your boots time for Malik!
That no ball looking very costly now

[ppccopener]

Fattus Cattus ice plums suggestion now looking like the best idea since sliced bread for the England boys.

anyone for a Carlsberg slush puppy?

[alexhilly1492]

I need a drink.

same!!! typical england in the subcontinent, ineffective yet again :/

i cant help but think back to lords in the ashes australia make it look like a road and england struggle, hoping the same doesnt happen here especially with pakistans spinners and the horrors of 2012 coming back :/

[northernboy1987]

I think a fair chunk of England's batting performance will be down to how Captain Cook goes. He is the most likely batsman we have who can soak up the inevitable pressure of batting second and bat solidly for long periods while the others bat round him.

[jamielsn15]

Some on here are really harsh!

5th double ton at the ground in eight Test matches.  And we're hammering the bowlers.

Wicket is an absolute road.  And we're hammering the bowlers.

Hammering the spinners, yet all wickets have gone to quicks.

This pitch/ground is a bowler's graveyard.

Last few tests on this ground - Pakistan bat first; 500+ runs.  Both Australia and NZ out for less than 300 in both innings.  No wonder Cook audibly groaned when he lost the toss.  This place is an absolute fortress for Pakistan, surely we can cut England a bit of slack.  They deserve hammering for the drops and no ball, but you're going to make mistake in 35-40 degree heat, they're under prepared in terms of acclimatisation and first-class match practice - that;s not their fault, that's the scheduling...

[FattusCattus]

Thanks you for some perspective Jamie.

This is flat - was always going to be.  There isn't a better spinner in England than these two at the moment, so there isn't anything else the selectors can do.

All we can do is bat and bat and bat and see how our spinners go in the second innings.

It's going to make for dull cricket for England fans, but we haven't got a magic bowler up our sleeves, so I can't see what else we could do apart from hold our bloody catches.

[Kulli]

Rashid must be closing in on McGains record for worst ever debut innings for a test bowler, albeit at a slightly more leisurely economy rate.

[alexhilly1492]

it may be a road but australia made lords look the same and england batted poorly, we need a way of bowling teams out on good and very good batting wickets!

i think a left armer would help not only in that its another angle for batsmen to think about but will also breate some rough for the spinners well moeen anyway.

england have had a one paced and one style attck for a while yes now theres a little variety with wood/broad/anderson but theres still not that much variety, the only god send is we now have a leg spinner and he'll need time but will he get that? the only time i can see england playing two spinners is overseas in india/uae/sri lanka and so rashid realistically wont play unless two spinners are needed or moeen ali goes down injured!

this isnt saying england have bowled badly, they havnt but they didnt bowl badly in the summer at lords either and still got hammered

[csnew]

Before calling a pitch flat/road would wait until both sides have batted!

[Buzz]

This pitch is going to magically turn from a road to a minefield around the time that the Misbah declares...

[jamielsn15]

It is a road but using Boycotts' well-worn phrase of waiting til both sides have batted is too simplistic.  You have to take into account the scoreboard pressure and that Pakistan know how to win regularly on this pitch - e.g. Australia and NZ.

I fully expect England to score less than 350 and Pakistan to win the test by over 200 runs.  That's being realistic.  We don't have top quality spinners and now our quicks are shattered they're bowling down on pace and accuracy.

Our spinners have been trying to find the right pace and flight (or lack of) for this surface whereas Babar will get straight into a rhythm. We will face better, more consistent bowling than Pakistan have.  Batting first on these types of tracks is everything.  Asian teams playing against each other turn these types of pitches into 550 vs 600, then 200-1, match drawn.   Australia and New Zealand showed that if you're not familiar with the pitches and conditions, you'll struggle.

Everyone makes good points, I'm just trying to manage expectations