England were given a taste of their own medicine as Pakistan's seamers bowled them out cheaply on the first day at The Oval. Here are our main talking points of the day:
A good toss to lose...
It seemed a straightforward decision for Andrew Strauss when he won the toss as players and pundits alike thought the pitch looked like a typical Oval belter. The overcast conditions certainly helped the bowlers, but it will be interesting to see how Pakistan fare on day two. Only then we will know how well Pakistan bowled or how badly England batted especially in the morning session. At this point, it doesn't look like a 233 wicket though.
The latest gem off the production line
Pakistan keep churning out excellent fast bowlers. Debutant Wahab Riaz was hostile, accurate and fast (touching 90 mph on several occasions) and had a dream first day in test cricket bagging a five for and snaring batsmen of the quality of Strauss, Jonathan Trott, Eoin Morgan and best of all Kevin Pietersen. If only Pakistan could unearth some young batsmen of the calibre of Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan. Then the world would fear Pakistan.
Catches win matches...
It may be an old cliche but it is certainly a true one. Kamran Akmal's travails at Trent Bridge handed England the initiative and eventually the match. But here Pakistan were sharp in the field and held their catches. Even Akmal managed to hold on to four catches. Finally, Pakistan's brilliant bowlers got the fielding they deserved.
...but there was a reminder of recent horror shows
It would seem that the returning Mohammad Yousuf wasn't recalled for his fielding. David Lloyd had just called him the weak link as far as Pakistan's fielding goes, which is a pretty dubious honour to have, when Yousuf dropped an absolute dolly to reprieve Matt Prior. For once, Pakistan didn't pay the price as Saeed Ajmal snared Steve Finn next ball to wrap up the innings and spare Yousuf's blushes.
The changing man
Matt Prior looked like a man under pressure earlier in the summer when Craig Kieswetter was breathing down his neck. But a loss of form for his adversary in the Nat West series against Australia and a lot of runs for Sussex seems to have got Prior back into the groove. We've been critical in the past that Prior never seemed to score runs when England really needed them. But today was the second time in the series that Prior has stepped up to the plate when England were in trouble. Craig who?
Ducks are like London buses...
...for James Anderson, or so it would seem. After successfully negotiating 54 test innings before bagging his first test duck at The Oval last summer, Anderson has now made another four in his last ten innings. Expect some Tweets from Graeme Swann on that one.
Player of the day
It has to be Wahab Riaz. Five wickets on your first day in test cricket is impressive stuff and he even managed to add some cream on top when he survived the last three balls of the day as nightwatchman. Easy, this test cricket lark eh Wahab?
Zero of the day
None of the England top order covered themselves in glory, but it has to be the hapless Alastair Cook who wins the booby prize. That is just 106 runs in eight test innings this summer for the vice-captain. He could be batting for his place in the second innings. With Ian Bell to come back into the side, Cook looks the most vulnerable. He also looks like he could do with a rest to work on his technical deficiencies and regain some confidence. If the selectors go down this route, one of Michael Carberry, Ravi Bopara or James Hildreth would come in at Lord's.
What will happen on day two?
England need a couple of early wickets and if overhead conditions are the same as they were on day one, expect this to happen especially with a nightwatchman at the crease. Can Stuart Broad repeat his day two heroics at the same ground last summer? The key man could well be Yousuf, who will be keen to ram another couple of helpings of humble pie down the throat of PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt.
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