Worth reading Simon Hughes' commentary on this today...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/england/9094064/Pakistan-v-England-Alastair-Cooks-team-have-become-good-at-50-over-cricket.htmlPakistan v England: Alastair Cook's team have become good at 50-over cricket
England were whitewashed in India, but now, thanks to hard work, new rules and a little luck, life looks very different.
Time
By the management’s own admission, England were a little underprepared going into the first Test. They were just not ready for a trial by mysterious spin (aided by Hawk-Eye) on low, slightly skiddy pitches and there was no time to recover confidence or rejig technique after the initial defeat.
Gradually they have worked out a method from time in the middle, helped also by the lack of close fielders. This has a psychological as well as physical impact.
Having no men around the bat makes batsmen feel liberated and they can attempt to manoeuvre the ball into spaces reassured that there is no one there to prey on their misjudgement. Kevin Pietersen was waltzing down the wicket to Saeed Ajmal on Saturday, using his whole body as a barrier to stop the ball getting past.
Occasionally it skewed off an edge but there was no one there to catch it. Pakistan could have countered with more attacking fields, but they were over defensive.
Alastair Cook
Ignored as a one-day player a year ago, and ridiculed in some quarters when he was appointed captain, Cook has made it his mission to succeed. He has kept his method very simple, sticking to basics, batting watchfully early on, gradually upping the tempo.
His innings are a geometric delight as he uses bat angles to manipulate the ball into gaps, using glides and late cuts on the offside, and flicks and nurdles to leg. He does not premeditate his shots, he just capitalises on precise judgment of line and length.
Helped by good pitches and Pakistan’s seamers’ reluctance to go around the wicket, he has achieved an excellent strike rate of 93 runs per 100 balls (up there with the best in the world) with the minimum of fuss. He is a rare talent.
Restrictions on bowlers
Ajmal has been able to bowl only 10 overs per match, and has therefore been used in short bursts, which means he is unable to build up pressure.
Some England batsmen are no nearer reading him (Pietersen, Eoin Morgan) but they have fashioned a method. His impact has been lessened by the freer mentality of the batsmen and also the fact that he does not like bowling with a newish ball.
Two new balls
The use of a new ball at each end is huge advantage to England now they have such an impressive seam attack. Stuart Broad and James Anderson were missing from the one-day series in India which England lost so heavily, leaving Steven Finn as a lone strike force.
Now there is no let up on the Pakistan batsmen, who are anyway technically flawed. Finn is the perfect bowler for these surfaces because he really bends his back and hits the pitch hard while also bowling relentlessly straight and predominantly full.
His sheer pace (90mph plus) has been too much for some batsmen and it was a major error that England did not pick him instead of Chris Tremlett in the first Test after his showing in India.
Broad has been a penetrative ally, varying his grip while maintaining superb control and Anderson has been reliability personified.
And, even in the 40th over, they are bowling with a ball that is only 20 overs old. It is the first real offering to bowlers in one day cricket – the equivalent of giving an opening batsman an extra life – and will have a major impact on England’s one-day fortunes.
Pakistan, meanwhile, have a relatively weak pace attack, and its leader, Umar Gul prefers, like Ajmal, an older ball.
Powerplays
The penny has finally dropped and England have realised that they were coming unstuck in the batting powerplays by being over-ambitious.
Now, helped by the fact that Cook has been at the wicket, they have been less extravagant and more calculated, maintaining the same tempo rather than looking suddenly to shift into a different gear. England’s lower middle order, however, has yet to be properly tested.
As England found to their cost in India, and to their satisfaction here, momentum in one-day series shifts inexorably. Increasingly, everything seems to go right for one team, and wrong for the other.
But tactics evolve fast in one-day cricket, so England should enjoy their success while it lasts.
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Topic: The Big Kevin Pietersen Debate (Read 7214 times)