Eng in Pak, Oct 7-28

[Durhamfootman]

ah well..... it's an all Durham seam attack as Stokes and Potts come in for Woakes and Atkinson

[Arthur Crabtree]

All Durham, but no Wood.

[alfie]

So they must be fairly sure the spinners will be assuming much of the work this time. Would not expect Stokes to bowl the sort of spells the three seamers did last time , though since Potts and Carse seem to be willing workhorses he shouldn't need to. Hopefully we don't see quite the bowlers' graveyard now the pitch is in its second incarnation.

[Durhamfootman]

All Durham, but no Wood.

nope.... can't see him for the trees

[meninblue]

Curator has been instructed to prepare a wicket io which the ball should turn from Day 1.

[andy]

Helps that it will already be a used wicket....

Surprised Potts comes in for Atkinson...stokes must be close to full fitness if he is effectively the 3rd seamer....Pakistan with a number of changes don't understand why they mess naseem Shah around...he's the best of a bad bunch imo....3 spinners is quite a turnaround as well highly doubt it's gonna be a raging turner....not surprised Babar is dropped however India didn't drop kohli when he went through 3 bad years so is it wise to drop your best batsman? Only time will tell

[Arthur Crabtree]

Good to see Bashir going for fewer runs, even if Leach has the wickets.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Third spinner? Leg spinner?

England might feel compelled to give Stokes a share of the hard labour. Though Potts and Carse have hardly bowled. Saving themselves for the old ball I suppose.

[sussexpob]

Clearly more movement for the spinners in this one, but it still looks good for batting at the moment. Got a feeling at this stage it might be an excellent toss to win for Pakistan, because I'd expect spin to actually come into the game this time unlikely last time.

[sussexpob]

Good to see Bashir going for fewer runs, even if Leach has the wickets.

If Bashir ever gets his length in the right zones consistently, he could be handful in the future, but at the moment its a bit "spray and pray" all over the place. He has that ball that is tight on the stumps and right on the cusp of short of a length/length where as a batsman you are always committing to get forward, but Bashir's height makes the ball get big on off the pitch. When he can actually get that ball in play 2-3 times in quick succession, he can force batsman errors, but he isn't doing that bowling a metre outside leg stump.

Bashir could learn a lot from watching how Kumble attacked the stumps. Don't worry too much about anything like big turn, get it in the right areas all the time and let that extra height be your weapon.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Wicket for Pottzo! Much needed.

[sussexpob]

Wicket for Pottzo! Much needed.

Pretty rubbish shot to get out to.

Stokes bowled pretty well for his spell. Actually got some movement from the pitch and in the air, and had one edge drop short.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Now South African born Brydon Carse snaffles one. 6-3-6-1. England turning it around.

[sussexpob]

Now Carse snaffles one. 6-3-6-1. England turning it around.

Early indications of uneven bounce with that wicket. Been some movement from the deck, a bit more in the air, and some spin.... so this is not a 800/8 pitch this time, but its still good for batting I reckon.... under 400 should set England up nicely.

[sussexpob]

Ghulam plays well, but its a very poor dismissal. Think he has decided to charge down whatever the ball, and misses it by a mile.... bowled, but would have been stumped if it was missing anyway. Pretty appalling cricket