ghazi52
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LONDON: Seamer Mohammad Abbas (C) celebrates with his Pakistan team-mates after taking the wicket of England opener Alastair Cook during the first Test at Lord’s
Clinical Pakistan produce the unexpected dissection of England
Mark Wood punched the ball down the field for an off drive, and Mohammad Amir was at mid-on, but made quick ground to catch up to the ball. He came from the left of the ball, but he kept running until he was on the ball's right. Then he squatted as he ran and tried to flick the ball back. Amir missed it, fell over the rope, and didn't even see the ball hit the rope.
Pakistan at their worst.
***
Pakistan would bowl first, by their own choice, or ultimately with England winning the toss. Pakistan wanted to use their strength - this bowling attack - as soon as they could. There is a sameness to Pakistan's seam attack, there are no tall bowlers, no one fast either. Other than Amir's left arm, they're very similar; all rely on skill, all are 130s bowler.
When Rahat Ali bizarrely played in the Ireland Test - despite having not played a first class game before the tour since the end of 2016 - the Pakistan attack did not look that good. They seemed to rely on the sticky tape keeping Amir's knee together, and the occasional breakthrough of Shadab Khan. Hasan Ali has completed his attack, and although he is more of the same, he's high quality more of the same.
But what this allows them is four seamers who don't bowl poor balls, three of which are strike bowlers. The accuracy allows them to build pressure. And that is what they are, a high skilled bowling attack that doesn't give you much, but which can occasionally bowl magic balls. Sure, Mohammad Irfan's height would be handy, as would Wahab's 40 minutes of occasional brilliance, but this is a different kind of attack. They stick to plans; they keep it tight, and they move the ball for long periods of time. It may not work everywhere, but for the first 16 wickets of this match, in this climate, on this pitch, it couldn't have worked much better.
There was no time there wasn't some pressure on the English batting, Abbas attacked the stumps, Hasan the outside edge, Faheem Ashraf kept the scoreboard pressure on, and Amir bowled great spells. And of course there was magic.
But when Hasan bowls a big hooping delivery or Mohammad Abbas nips one violently or Amir produces a supernova, it's not a one-off thing that has to work, it's the cherry on top of an exceptionally well baked medium-fast cake.
***
Even in the #MisYou days, Pakistan struggled for a top three. But against Ireland, it became a scream.
Malahide exploded when Boyd Rankin took Ireland's first Test wicket. The next ball Tim Murtagh added their second. 13 for 2, Pakistan would recover, before losing a bunch of middle order scalps and teetering on the edge at 159 for 6. In the second innings they were chasing 160, Rankin took a wicket, but the real destroyer was Murtagh.
Murtagh is a 36-year-old seamer who's played 211 first-class games, mostly in the County Championship, but has never been that close to English selection. He bowls in the high 120s, and he had Pakistan sweating both times he bowled to them. Murtagh is a good quality first-class bowler, but he's not Jimmy Anderson.
Azhar Ali bats too slow, Imam-ul-Haq is only picked because of his famous uncle, and Haris Sohail is a late bloomer who looks pretty but has a permanent look of impermanence. And now without Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan, there is no safety blanket left. Asad Shafiq's finding batting a hell of a lot tougher away from the cushy number six position. Babar Azam, the white-ball batsman, looks down on Babar Azam, the red-ball guy. And whatever magical land Sarfraz Ahmed's batting came from, it seems to have gone back to.
Yet on a cold grey day, close enough to stumps to make them nervous, Pakistan held on. The following morning, they stepped up again. When their captain played a silly shot in the shadows of tea, their middle order pulled together, even after Babar's arm was smashed up. They out batted England's bowlers on a day England's bowlers bowled well, they handled Wood's short balls, and survived the best Ben Stokes could throw at them.
Azhar did what he does for over 200 minutes; it wasn't his best innings, but in the context of the match, it is heroic. Shafiq looked like the senior batsmen he actually is, and his innings was quality. Babar batted on rails, the exact way someone of his talent should have batting. It's probably the best Test innings of his life. But no one made a big score; it was a decent total, made as the entire team stands up.
They didn't just out-bat England; they out-batted their individual parts. And they withheld.
Asad Shafiq unfurls a perfect drive
Mohammad Abbas is ecstatic after picking up a wicket
