Pakistan vs England in UAE 2012

[DexteR]

Welcome to the Discussion Thread for
Pakistan vs England
Cricket Series to be played in UAE

Here is the schedule

3 Tests, 4 ODI and 3 T20 Matches to be played from January 17, 2012 to February 27, 2012

[DexteR]

Stuart Broad happy with shoulder recovery

Stuart Broad, the England fast bowler, has said he's satisfied with how his shoulder held up after his first day of competitive cricket in four months.

Broad took three wickets in his first three overs against a ICC Combined Associate and Affiliate XI on the opening day of their first warm-up match in Dubai.

The injury had forced Broad to miss the limited-overs tour of India last year, and came soon after his Man-of-the-Series performance in the home Test series against them in the summer. "The shoulder seems fine, I think it was mid-November by the time it completely healed," he said after the first day's play in Dubai. "It seems to be back really stronger than it was before, that's pleasing."

The ICC XI hit back after the early losses, and tested the England bowlers almost until the close of play. From 90 for 6, half-centuries from Afghanistan's Mohammad Shahzad and Namibia's Christi Viljoen lifted the ICC XI to 281.

Broad felt the hard work would help the bowling line-up during the Tests against Pakistan. "The conditions have been great, because I think they are similar to what we will face in the Test matches," he said. "It is going to be crucial for us in the Test match series to use the new ball and the second new ball wisely.

"That period, from overs 50 to 80, is going to be a real holding role. We are not going to be able to burst through because the wickets are not going to be suited to that."

Over the past two years in the UAE, teams have run up ten Test totals in excess of 300, and only been bowled out four times below that score. Broad expected the Pakistan series also to be similar, with a tough grind awaiting the bowlers. "It will be attritional cricket, going at two-and-a-half or three runs an over, fielding for long periods of time, trying to bowl teams out for 300 to 350 and probably fielding for 120 overs. It will be old school Test cricket, I suppose."

After the current three-day game, England have another one against a Pakistan Cricket Board XI before the first Test starting on January 17.

[Sadaf Gondal]

England to miss Bresnan in UAE tour opener
Tim Bresnan will miss England's opening tour match against an ICC Combined XI.


England will be without paceman Tim Bresnan in their opening three-day tour match against an ICC Combined XI starting here from Saturday, one of two side games before the three-Test series against Pakistan.

The 26-year-old paceman, who still has soreness in the elbow which was operated on last month, is likely to be fit for the second warm-up match before the first Test starts here from January 17.

"Bresnan has still got a bit of swelling in his elbow as a reaction to his operation, so he s not quite ready yet," Andrew Strauss, the England captain, said on Friday. "We re aiming for the second warm-up game with him."

England play a Pakistan Cricket Board XI in the second side match, also to be played in Dubai, from January 11-13.

Bresnan took 16 wickets in the three Tests he played against India at home last year -- a series which lifted Strauss s men to number one in Test rankings.

Lanky pacemen Chris Tremlett or Steven Finn can fill in Bresnan s place although Tremlett also has an eye infection, which Strauss believed would not hinder his bowling.

The ICC (International Cricket Council) will be led by Ireland skipper William Porterfield and is comprised of players from Associate countries.

Strauss said: "We want to get the intensity right right from the start and that is going to be the challenge for us. Obviously getting used to these conditions is important as we have to find ways to take wickets, if the wicket is flat," said England captain.

England will be playing in United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the first time in a series shifted here over security fears in Pakistan.

"It is very important to get as much cricket as possible prior to that first Test match but to a certain extent there is likely to be some changes between the two games.

"It has always been our philosophy we got to get the starting eleven as prepared as possible before the first Test match," said Strauss whose team will play their first Test since beating India 4-0 in August last year.

The second Test will be played in Abu Dhabi (January 25-29) and the third in Dubai (February 3-7).

The Tests will be followed by four one-day and three Twenty20 internationals.

[Nida_Ali_Nido]

hawwwwwwwwwww am anxiously waiting

[Sadaf Gondal]

me too

[DexteR]

Alastair Cook defends rusty England batsmen

Alastair Cook admitted England's batsmen had not started their time in UAE as they had hoped but was not overly concerned despite an unconvincing display against an ICC Combined XI in Dubai. Cook top-scored with 76 but no-one else reached 20 as England struggled to 185 for 8 before Andrew Strauss declared.

For Cook it was his first competitive innings since the one-day series against India in October but for some of his team-mates, notably Strauss and Eoin Morgan, it has been much longer. Strauss last played in mid-September while Morgan suffered a shoulder injury at the start of the home one-day series against India.

"It wasn't ideal," Cook said. "I think we have to put that down to a little bit of rustiness. But credit to the opposition, especially Boyd [Rankin]. I thought he bowled very, very well. I think when you haven't batted outside for probably four months, with whites and a red ball, it does take a while to get into that rhythm. But it's not the end of the world."

However, Cook suggested that even if the top order had fired during the first two sessions, a declaration would have still been part of England's plan to keep the game open.

"I think, if we'd batted better, we still would have pulled out to set up a game. One of [coach] Andy Flower's big things is to try and win these preparation games to make them competitive for us," he said. "They do lack that intensity of Test cricket, of course. But we try to get as much competitive cricket into us as possible, so that when we come to the first morning of that Test match we're ready for it."

It has been a busy time of late for Cook who, while now concentrating on opening the batting for England, got married on New Year's Eve and joined the tour 36 hours later than his team-mates after being granted brief leave by the ECB.

"It was an amazing day - a bit too short with the celebrations afterwards," he said. "Thirty-six hours can't really be allowed to constitute a honeymoon. I hope at some stage in the next 12 months we'll get to go away. But it was very kind of the ECB to give me that time."

Meanwhile Boyd Rankin, who removed Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell during the afternoon session, knows that such performances can't do him any harm with a view to furthering his England ambitions. After this match he will join the Lions squad in Bangladesh and has gained good reviews on the county circuit for Warwickshire.

"Hopefully I've done myself a few favours and shown what I can do," he said. "It is a pretty flat pitch and I'm actually surprised how many wickets have fallen. We had plans against all the batsmen and we did well to put them under pressure. Hopefully we can get a few more runs in the morning and then we'll be confident of bowling them out."

[DexteR]

England survive wobble to take victory

England XI 185 for 8 dec (Cook 76) and 261 for 7 (Strauss 78, Nabi 3-66) beat ICC Combined XI 281 (Viljoen 98, Broad 4-46) and 164 for 9 dec (Shahzad 74, Broad 3-22)

England overcame another middle-order wobble to secure a three-wicket win against the ICC Combined Associate and Affiliate XI in Dubai. Andrew Strauss's 78 had put the visitors in control as they chased 261, but five wickets fell for 66 to leave the game in the balance, and it required composure from Steven Davies and Stuart Broad to ensure England started the tour with victory.

When Ian Bell departed England still needed 62 and the ICC XI were confident of pulling off an upset. However, Davies and Broad played sensibly to chip away at the target, although Broad fell with the scores level. The partnership was not without alarm, though, as Davies was put down at cover on 20 and Broad would have been run out had Majid Haq produced a better throw.

The ICC XI had declared 18.3 overs into the day to set up the final innings of the match, and the early indications were that England would have few problems as Strauss added 63 with Alastair Cook. Jonathan Trott almost departed for a duck - again to a catch down the leg side - but the umpires ruled the chance had not carried to the wicketkeeper. He and Strauss combined in a 70-run stand, which took England halfway towards their target with Strauss reaching a crisp fifty off 67 balls.

However, Strauss toe-ended a pull to midwicket off Haq, which opened the door for the ICC XI. Kevin Pietersen revived an old story when he chipped a catch to mid-on off George Dockrell, the Ireland left-arm spinner, who was drafted into the team after injury to Hamid Hassan. England were steadied by the Warwickshire pair of Trott and Ian Bell before another flurry of wickets.

Trott was caught at short leg and Eoin Morgan completed a lean match when he glanced Boyd Rankin down the leg side. Bell, who had played confidently to reach 39, then fell to a paddle-sweep, which Paul Stirling, fielding at slip, anticipated superbly as he ran around behind the wicketkeeper to take the catch.

Earlier in the day Broad took his seventh wicket of the match when he removed Mohammad Nabi, but Mohammad Shahzad ensured the lead was extended at a good rate alongside Haq before William Porterfield had the luxury of declaring. Graeme Swann was absent from the field with a slight muscle problem but came to the middle to hit the winning run.

[DexteR]

Bresnan ruled out of Test series

Tim Bresnan, the England pace-bowling allrounder, has been ruled out of the Test series against Pakistan after failing to recover from the elbow surgery he underwent before Christmas. The news has come as a major surprise to the England camp even though Bresnan sat out the first warm-up match.

He travelled with the squad to the UAE last week but was not able to play against a ICC Combined XI and at the end of the match the decision was taken to send him home. His absence is a significant blow for England as he is able to get the ball to reverse-swing, which is set to be a key weapon in the Test series, and also adds to the team's formidable lower-order strength.

"Bresnan tried to bowl today, having had an injection and a good rest," Andrew Strauss, the England captain, said. "I think we were all expecting him to be absolutely fine. But it's very painful - and given that, he's probably not going to be able to play for two or three weeks."

England have won the 10 Tests that Bresnan has played. Having played a key part in the Ashes series he missed the start of the last English season with a calf problem. He initially suffered the injury in the one-day series in Australia before a recurrence during a Championship match against Hampshire. He returned to the side after Chris Tremlett was injured against India. During his comeback match at Trent Bridge he hit 90 and took 5 for 48 . He went on to take nine more wickets in the series against India and score another half-century.

"I'm obviously gutted not to have an opportunity to play in the Test series," Bresnan said, "but I knew that looking at my rehabilitation programme it was always going to be touch and go to get me ready for the series. I want to wish the squad all very best and the priority for me now is to get myself ready for the one-day series in February."

Graham Onions travelled with the team to the UAE as a reserve member of the squad and has now been elevated to a permanent member. Steven Finn, who played against the ICC XI, will be the favourite to replace Bresnan in the Test line up.

Meanwhile, Graeme Swann, the England offspinner, did not field on the final morning of the match against the ICC XI after reporting some muscle soreness in his leg and will be sent for a scan, while Tremlett has been suffering from an eye infection during the early days of the tour and will visit a doctor.

Matt Prior, the Test wicketkeeper, missed the ICC XI match with a bruised finger but Strauss confirmed he will be able to play the second warm-up game on Wednesday.

[Sadaf Gondal]

[LoViNg IrFaN]

Bresnan ruled out of Test series

Tim Bresnan, the England pace-bowling allrounder, has been ruled out of the Test series against Pakistan after failing to recover from the elbow surgery he underwent before Christmas. The news has come as a major surprise to the England camp even though Bresnan sat out the first warm-up match.

He travelled with the squad to the UAE last week but was not able to play against a ICC Combined XI and at the end of the match the decision was taken to send him home. His absence is a significant blow for England as he is able to get the ball to reverse-swing, which is set to be a key weapon in the Test series, and also adds to the team's formidable lower-order strength.

"Bresnan tried to bowl today, having had an injection and a good rest," Andrew Strauss, the England captain, said. "I think we were all expecting him to be absolutely fine. But it's very painful - and given that, he's probably not going to be able to play for two or three weeks."

England have won the 10 Tests that Bresnan has played. Having played a key part in the Ashes series he missed the start of the last English season with a calf problem. He initially suffered the injury in the one-day series in Australia before a recurrence during a Championship match against Hampshire. He returned to the side after Chris Tremlett was injured against India. During his comeback match at Trent Bridge he hit 90 and took 5 for 48 . He went on to take nine more wickets in the series against India and score another half-century.

"I'm obviously gutted not to have an opportunity to play in the Test series," Bresnan said, "but I knew that looking at my rehabilitation programme it was always going to be touch and go to get me ready for the series. I want to wish the squad all very best and the priority for me now is to get myself ready for the one-day series in February."

Graham Onions travelled with the team to the UAE as a reserve member of the squad and has now been elevated to a permanent member. Steven Finn, who played against the ICC XI, will be the favourite to replace Bresnan in the Test line up.

Meanwhile, Graeme Swann, the England offspinner, did not field on the final morning of the match against the ICC XI after reporting some muscle soreness in his leg and will be sent for a scan, while Tremlett has been suffering from an eye infection during the early days of the tour and will visit a doctor.

Matt Prior, the Test wicketkeeper, missed the ICC XI match with a bruised finger but Strauss confirmed he will be able to play the second warm-up game on Wednesday.

ye kya yar

[DexteR]

England assess bowling options

England face an important few days as they try to formulate their bowling attack for the first Test against Pakistan following the loss of Tim Bresnan. He flew home on Tuesday having been ruled out of action until at least the one-day series while there are lingering problems with other members of the squad.

Graeme Swann, the offspinner, is due to go for a scan on a leg problem that kept him off the field on the final morning against the ICC Combined XI but Andrew Strauss said he wasn't overly concerned. Chris Tremlett, meanwhile, is still struggling with the eye infection he picked up during the early days of the tour.

Graham Onions, the Durham paceman, has now been made an official member of the squad and could play in the final warm-up match against a Pakistan Cricket Board XI so that Strauss and Andy Flower have options available to them for the first Test next week. If Swann isn't risked ahead of the series it would also allow Monty Panesar an outing.

Onions was back involved with England squads towards the end of the last season, but hasn't featured in a full international since January 2010 against South Africa after which he suffered a career-threatening back injury that required surgery.

"I wouldn't say when I was playing I took it for granted. But you turn up and have the ball in your hand - and then all of a sudden, as happened to me in Bangladesh, you get injured," he told reporters in Dubai. "That's quite hard to take. But I'm here now and I want to make a difference as part of this team. They weren't number one when I was playing. I want to be part of that side."

James Anderson and Stuart Broad are certainties for the first Test barring any late injury problems so Onions is in contention for the third fast-bowling spot along with Tremlett and Steven Finn. Finn bowled 27 overs against the ICC XI and took three wickets as he tries to return to the Test side for the first time since the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's. Tremlett was the man in possession at the start of the India series before injury allowed Bresnan his opportunity.