Pakistan have been fined for maintaining slow over-rate in the fourth Test against England at The Oval.
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Alex Hales, James Vince and Gary Ballance have all struggled against Pakistan – averaging 18, 22 and 27 respectively – and will be looking over their shoulders rather than looking forward to the winter tours.
India No.1: India need to win Port-of-Spain Test.
“Consistently over the summer, we haven’t scored enough runs at the top of the order”.
England got through the first 45 minutes without losing a wicket – and early spells from Yasir, Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz – before Sohail Khan struck nearly immediately.
His stay in the team resembles that of Younus Khan, who was not bound for greatness but nevertheless became one of the greatest in Pakistan’s Test history with a passion to deliver for the country.
Talent “It is not easy and until you get that score, it is a hard place to be”, Cook added.
Asked if he will do so, he said: “Certainly, I’ll be trying to get there when I can”. They think the wickets suit us and we win there.
All these questions will concern the selectors who have much to ponder before they announce a 16-man touring party for either Bangladesh or India.
England’s resistance was shortlived on the penultimate day of the fourth Test as Pakistan cut through their middle and lower order before knocking off the token total of 40 required to win by 10 wickets.
“We had lost five wickets when I went out to bat”.
“We can t afford to drop as many catches as we have in this series if we want to bowl sides out on good wickets like this one here”, he said.
PAKISTAN captain Misbah-ul-Haq (L) and his England counterpart Alastair Cook in conversation while holding the trophy.
“But apart from that incident. we have talked about the cricket for 99.9 per cent of the series”. But with a round of county championship matches ending on Tuesday, time will be short before white-ball cricket takes over again for the remainder of this week. If that happens it will be for the first time they will be at the top since the ICC introduced official rankings’ system in 2003. We had an opportunity to win it 3-1 coming into this game but Pakistan bounced back really well and deserved to win this game.
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Given the one-sided nature of many recent Test series, it was ultimately enjoyable for fans of both sides and neutrals alike to witness such a closely-fought series, a cricketing feast in four courses that like all good things left you longing for just that little bit more.
