Pakistan surrenders meekly; Confident England aims for consistency

An inconsistent and inexperienced Pakistan surrendered meekly to the swing bowling of Anderson & Co, as the 2nd innings innings got folded in just 29 overs, with 145 overs remained unused in the match. Such is the form and confidence that are previaling in the English camp, that their victory against Aussies in their home country cannot be ruled out.

Pakistan were in a tenuous position to start with at 15 for 3, and after a muted start by England's bowlers they quickly capitulated, crashing to 80 all out fifteen minutes before the scheduled lunch break. Imran Farhat and Mohammad Aamer resisted for more than seven overs before the breakthrough came, but after they were parted what little belief Pakistan may have held quickly dissipated.

That was a comprehensive performance from England - excellent bowling, batting in their first innings from Morgan and Collingwood, and sharp fielding and that followed with a quick century from Mat Prior, aloowing England to have won by 354 runs. And as for Pakistan, where to go from here? They have only a few days until the second Test starts at Edgbaston on Friday, but they must put this abject display out of their minds. Their bowling was excellent in the second innings, but apart from that there wasn't much to write home about.


James Anderson finished with match figures of 11 for 71 - the best match analysis by an England bowler since Matthew Hoggard collected 12 for 205 against South Africa at the Wanderers in January 2005.

Pakistan's young side will be mentally scarred by the scale of their defeat, and It is hard to see how they can pick themselves up for the second Test at Edgbaston. They won't have too long to dwell on things with the match starting on Friday. They could find some hope in the way they bounced back after a loss in their first Test of the summer against Australia, and had they held their catches in the first innings here they could have put England under more pressure. Will Kamran Akmal be dropped for the 2nd test for poor catching? Will Umar Akmal play, if Kamran Akmal is being dropped? Remember the aftermath of the Sydney Test...

On the other hand, the signs are much more positive for England, with three batsmen making hundreds to guide their team out of tricky situations and Anderson leading the bowling attack with aplomb in helpful conditions. This was also helped by Strauss's post match press conference where he said that his side needed to acheive consistency by winning more matches...If what he said remains true, Aussies better watch out!!