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Yuvraj Singh saved India’s blushes, allowing them to hide the ordinary effort from other spinners, by picking his maiden five-for to restrict Ireland to 207 before he hit an unbeaten fifty to settle India’s nerves in a hard-fought win

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera06-Mar-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsWhile the lead spinners were unimpressive, Yuvraj Singh stood up for India•AFP

Yuvraj Singh saved the blushes for India, allowing them to hide the ordinary effort from other spinners, by picking his maiden five-for to restrict Ireland to 207 before he hit an unbeaten fifty to settle India’s nerves in a hard-fought win in Bangalore. Ireland enhanced their reputation by defending the target with disciplined bowling and excellent fielding and made India huff and puff to the victory line.On a dry pitch, where the ball came on slowly, the Indian batsmen preferred to play within themselves and tried to play risk-free cricket but kept losing wickets at regular intervals to keep Ireland interested in the chase. India were 24 for 2 in the sixth over, reached 100 for four at the fall of Virat Kohli in the 24th over, and recovered to 167 for 5 when MS Dhoni exited in the 41st over before Yusuf Pathan flexed his muscles to hasten the end.Ireland could have done far better had they not stumbled against Yuvraj’s bowling. They were eyeing a 250-plus target after a 113-run third-wicket stand between William Porterfield and Niall O’Brien but a run-out opened a window for Yuvraj to trigger a collapse. The most significant moment of the innings came in the 27th over, with Ireland sitting pretty on 122 for 2, when a set Niall O’Brien couldn’t make it in time to beat the throw from Virat Kohli in the covers. Dhoni did well to collect the slightly wayward throw and flick it onto the stumps. It was the beginning of the end.As ever, Yuvraj ambled in like a Sunday-park bowler and as always proved to be street-smart. His art is very simple: he turns the ball slightly but his USP is the variation in pace, using a scrambled seam. He is usually slow and slower but surprises the batsmen with a quicker one. Today, too, he struck to his regular staple diet of slower ones; some were delivered with a round arm, some from higher straighter arm, and some with a crouched bent-knee release to get the ball to skid on.

Smart Stats

• India improved their record at the Chinnaswamy stadium to 12 wins from 18 matches. They have lost only four matches and tied one. They have not lost a single match in World Cups in Bangalore.

• Yuvraj Singh’s 5 for 31 is his career-best and the fifth five-wicket haul by an Indian bowler in World Cups. Ashish Nehra, Venkatesh Prasad, Kapil Dev and Robin Singh are the other Indian bowlers to pick up five wickets in a World Cup game.

• Yuvraj’s spell is the eighth-best bowling performance by a spinner in ODIs. The best spell is Anil Kumble’s 6 for 12 in 1993.

• The 113-run stand between William Porterfield and Niall O’Brien is the highest for the third wicket for Ireland in ODIs surpassing the 89 between Andre Botha and Niall O’Brien against Netherlands in 2008.

• When he scored a half-century, Yuvraj became the first player to score a fifty and pick up five wickets in a match in World Cup game. Viv Richards and Paul Collingwood remain the only players to score a century and pick up five or more wickets in an ODI.

• The 67-run stand between MS Dhoni and Yuvraj was their 20th fifty-plus partnership in ODIs. Their average of 48.90 is the third highest among all Indian batting pairs who have aggregated over 2000 runs.

If you just catch the highlights of his wickets, most would seem like soft dismissals. To an extent they were, but that’s the illusion of nothingness he provides the batsmen, who then make seemingly silly mistakes. Andrew White was sucked into edging a flighted delivery to Dhoni, Kevin O’Brien tapped one softly back, Porterfield swatted a short ball straight to cover and John Mooney and Alex Cusack were trapped by skidders that came in with the arm. When White fell in the 30th over, Ireland were 129 for 4 and by the time Yuvraj got Cusack, Ireland had slid to 184 for 8 in the 44th over.Until then, India were looking really ragged in the field. Only Zaheer Khan bowled well to take two early wickets and Porterfield and Niall O’Brien played risk-free cricket to lay a good platform. Their case was helped by some ordinary bowling from the spinners. Harbhajan Singh looked off-key, straying on to the pads once too often, Yusuf Pathan erred on length, often dragging them short, and Piyush Chawla hit the wrong lines.None of that profligacy was seen in Ireland’s bowling effort. Trent Johnston, who is the top wicket taker for Ireland, struck two vital blows early, getting Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir to ensure India wouldn’t waltz to an easy win. Almost immediately, Porterfield brought in the teenaged left-arm spinner George Dockrell, who turned in a pleasing opening spell that read 4-0-14-0. He rarely gave anything to cut, always bowled slow through the air and was never afraid to flight. He had Kohli mistiming a few shots and made Tendulkar bat cautiously. Success came in his second spell, when he struck in his first delivery of the 21st over, trapping Tendulkar with a delivery that went past the attempted sweep. He could have got the wicket of Kohli, too, in his next over but Niall O’Brien, the keeper, couldn’t hold on to an edge. Later, he trapped Dhoni lbw with a delivery that straightened on middle and leg to give a window of hope for Ireland but Yusuf Pathan shut it very quickly with two monstrous sixes in the same over.

Match Timeline

Hotels are full, tickets are being sold for ten times their original price, and the Prime Minister will be there. Such is the build-up for India v Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Mar-2011Games don’t come much bigger than an India v Pakistan World Cup semi-final, so it’s no surprise Mohali, which will host the match on March 30, has become the most sought-after destination in India. The Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh will be there, and so will industry heavyweights, and IPL franchise owners, Mukesh Ambani and Vijay Mallya. Not only is there a mad scramble for tickets on the black market, but all the hotels are reportedly booked within a 25-kilometre radius and there is even a shortage of parking space at the airport for those with private planes.The stakes for the game were raised (as if a place in the World Cup final was not enough) on Friday when Singh sent a note to Pakistan prime minister Yousuf Gilani, and president Asif Zardari, inviting them both to the contest, the first such gesture since the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.”I propose to be at Mohali to watch the World Cup semi-final match between India and Pakistan to be held on 30th March,” the note said. “There is huge excitement over the match and we are all looking forward to a great game of cricket that will be a victory for sport. It gives me great pleasure to invite you to visit Mohali and join me and the millions of fans from our two countries to watch the match.”Security
The Chandigarh police are taking no chances with such a high-profile match, and have completely cordoned off the Pakistan team hotel. They have also given the team a list of dos and don’ts during their stay in the city. “More than 1000 policemen have been pressed into service,” HS Doon, senior superintendent of Chandigarh Police, told the . “We are using jammers and the team has been told to co-operate with us. Any team member, who wishes to go out of the hotel, will have to inform us at least four hours in advance.”An ICC official told ESPNcricinfo that there is an additional buzz in addition to the excitement and passion in Mohali considering India are playing Pakistan. “It is a mother of all finals even if it is just the semis,” the official said. It is also understood that the ICC is happy with the security arrangements at the venue. “The level of security that was expected is in place,” the official said.Accommodation
Hotels all over the city are packed and have been forced to turn away people. “We are full over the next five days,” Saera Dir, the sales and marketing head for the Taj Hotel, told the . “For the last one week, we have been politely declining requests from at least 50 clients every day.”Of course the lack of space in Chandigarh is not something that will deter an intrepid fan. “We could not get any bookings in Chandigarh or Mohali,” Gurgaon-based businessman, Rohan Gupta said. “The room we got was at a resort nearly 25km from the stadium. But we don’t mind as long as we can enjoy the excitement of the match in the stadium.”Tickets
Tickets have been sold out for days, but fans are still thronging to the PCA Stadium in the vain hope of finding them from somewhere. “I have been coming here since Monday, but have not been able to get any ticket,” Vikas Sharma, a young executive with a private company, told the .The rush for tickets has naturally led to allegations of black-market profiteering, with tickets going for as much as 10 times their original value. “The tickets are available, but you pay Rs 3000 for a Rs 250 ticket and shell out Rs 10,000 for a Rs 1000 ticket,” Ram Kumar, a bank officer in Chandigarh, told the same newspaper.The Punjab police admitted this is a problem but said they will do what they can to stop the illegal sale of tickets. “It is a problem and many cricket lovers will suffer due to this,” Mohali district police chief Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said. “We will try our level best to check black-marketing of tickets. Our officials will be deployed in plain clothes around the stadium and at various other locations to catch the black-marketeers.”While fans wanted to know how the local cricket association sold tickets in bulk to individual buyers, the association said it was powerless to stop the practice. “Our preparations are going on in full swing for this match,” GS Walia, joint secretary of the Punjab Cricket Association, said. “We cannot do anything directly in case of black-marketing. People came, stood in queues and bought tickets. Now if they sell them to anybody else in black, how can we keep a track? It is not under our control. But there will be enough security checks to ensure the genuineness of tickets.”Transportation
According to the , space at Chandigarh airport is limited so private jet owners have been asked to arrange for their planes to drop them off, then head off to places like Amritsar or Delhi to park for the day, before returning to pick them up after the match.Those fans who have to fly commercial airlines should be prepared to pay a huge premium, reported , a business paper. Business-class tickets are sold out, and an economy ticket for the 30-minute flight between Delhi and Chandigarh will cost between Rs 7407 and Rs 10,482 on March 29. A flight to Chandigarh from Delhi on any other day costs about Rs 3200.”With business-class seats already sold out, and full-service fares reaching the maximum levels – Rs 9000 on Delhi-Chandigarh and Rs 22,000 on Mumbai-Chandigarh – the airlines will need to add some excess capacity to take advantage of the peaking demand for 29-31 March,” Aloke Bajpai, the founder of travel portal iXiGO.com,” told . “Even tertiary sectors to Chandigarh, such as Jaipur-Chandigarh, are selling at Rs 8000.”Meanwhile the also reports that a special bus service is being set-up at Wagah, which is at the border between India and Pakistan, to make it easier for Pakistan fans to get to the stadium. About 6500 visas are expected to be issued for the game.Advertising
The overwhelming interest in the game has also proved to be a godsend for the broadcaster, ESPN Star Sports (ESS). Four years ago, ratings tumbled after India were knocked out in the group stages, making it much harder to sell advertising space. Things couldn’t be more different this time around. “There are very few spots left,” Sanjay Kailash, executive vice-president, ad sales and new media for ESS told the . “We are looking at substantially higher rates compared to what we were selling before the tournament started.”

Former Sri Lankan captains Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have backed fast bowler Lasith Malinga’s decision to quit Tests on account of a degenerative knee condition

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2011Former Sri Lankan captains Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have backed fast bowler Lasith Malinga’s decision to quit Tests on account of a degenerative knee condition. Malinga announced his retirement last week, when the Sri Lankan board questioned his participation in the IPL after withdrawing from the upcoming England Tests citing fitness issues. Sangakkara pointed out that Malinga’s decision was best for the team, while Jayawardene said it was the right call from a personal point of view.”We were all well aware of the seriousness of his knee condition and while I was captain we tried to manage him as carefully and sensitively as possible during the past couple of years,” Sangakkara wrote in his column in the . “We obviously wanted him to play Tests, but when we asked him to play the India tour it took him two months to physically recover from that.”Sangakkara revealed that Malinga’s future was one of the issues he had discussed with the Sri Lankan board while stepping down from captaincy. “The truth is that Lasith is our best fast bowler in limited-overs cricket right now,” Sangakkara wrote. “If we forced him to play Tests we would be running the risk of losing him completely. That would be a tragedy for Sri Lanka, undermining both the ODI and T20 teams.”Sangakkara dismissed suggestions that Malinga chose to quit Tests in order to extend his participation in the lucrative IPL. “Malinga has always given his best as a national cricketer. Had it not been for his knee problem he would definitely want to play Tests. I fully support his decision and hope that as a result of it we see him playing for a few more years.”Jayawardene, who was in charge of the Sri Lankan side before Sangakkara took over said it was unfair to criticise Malinga’s decision. “Given the state of his knee condition, there is no point in him taking the risk of playing Test cricket,” Jayawardene wrote in the same newspaper. “If he breaks down then it will be bad for Sri Lanka. We want him playing for us as long as possible. Some people have criticised the decision, arguing that he is being selfish. This short-sighted argument is very unfair given that he clearly has a chronic knee problem.”Lasith is a human being and, while he is totally committed to Sri Lanka, he also has responsibilities as a husband and, one day hopefully, a father. If his career is ended by injury, who is going to look after him and his family? When he suffered the injury the first time he was stripped of his central contract within about six months and left with no income.”Any individual in any profession has to consider their personal and family interests when they make big decisions in their life. Why should a professional cricketer be any different? We need to support him and protect him. He is a natural match-winner and a great asset for Sri Lanka. We should be grateful for his services and help him look after himself.”

Graham Onions, the England fast bowler, feared his cricket career could have been over when he was told he needed surgery on his back last year

Andrew McGlashan18-May-2011Graham Onions, the England fast bowler, feared his cricket career could have been over when he was told he needed surgery on his back last year. He didn’t play at all during the 2010 English season, but returned earlier this summer and made such strides that he will appear for England Lions against the Sri Lankans this week.The last time Onions played a match for England he staved off the final over from Morne Morkel in Cape Town, the second time in three Tests he performed that match-saving feat, having survived Makhaya Ntini in Centurion. He was controversially overlooked for the final match of that series at the Wanderers, and when the Test squad reassembled in Bangladesh last February, Onions began getting pain in his back.He flew home from Bangladesh, and after three attempts to battle through and recover by resting, he had to go under the knife. It left him with a titanium pin in the left side of his back and, understandably for such a major operation, Onions admitted to “dark times” in the immediate aftermath.”There have certainly been times where I’ve doubted whether I’d get the ball back in my hand – whether I’d still be able to bowl quickly, and be the same bowler,” he said on the eve of playing for the Lions. “All those things go through your mind. There were times when I didn’t think I was going to play again.”There have been tough times, and dark times. But I’m sitting here today with an England tracksuit on and with a great opportunity to play against a very good Test side.”Onions has been carefully managed by Durham during his return to action and he wasted no time in making his mark with a five-wicket haul in his first match back, against Yorkshire. Despite the seriousness of his injury, Onions is confident he will suffer no lasting effects.He has now set his sights on adding to his eight Test caps, although he knows others are ahead in the pecking order after his absence. A possible opening had emerged with Tim Bresnan likely to miss the Sri Lanka series because of a torn calf, but Onions isn’t getting carried away. Ajmal Shahzad and Steven Finn are the more likely candidates.”I’m playing professional cricket again for Durham, bowling as fast as I can, and I’ve had no reaction from it at all,” he said. “I am 99.9% sure I will be absolutely fine for the rest of my career.”My aspirations have never changed. I like to think I am good enough to play for England. A few people have leapfrogged me, and I appreciate that. It has been bitterly disappointing to be able to do nothing while my place in the England side is taken by someone else. But I am looking forward to challenging those guys who are ahead of me now – getting back into the side, whether it is next week or later in the season.”Onions is immensely grateful to the help he received from the ECB during his recuperation, especially psychologist Mark Bawden, and he also had phone calls from team-mates on the Ashes tour.”The ECB have been absolutely fantastic. I cannot thank them enough,” he said. “Mark [Bawden] has done so much to keep me on the right track. I’ve relied on the ECB to keep in touch when I’ve needed someone to talk to – and Andrew Strauss, Andy Flower and Mark Bawden have all been absolutely brilliant.”When they were at the Ashes in Australia, on the opposite side of the world, they had a job to do. I appreciated that, but once they did have five minutes or so they would give me a call to ask how I was.”And that help ensured he could see a light at the end of the tunnel. “I suppose I did honestly believe I was going to get back, prove myself and pull that England shirt back on. I feel very much ready now.”

Michael Clarke has said he is excited to see young players getting central contracts. He also said he could understand Simon Katich’s disappointment at being cut from the 25-player list

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jun-2011Michael Clarke, the Australian captain, has said he is excited to see young players getting central contracts. He also said he could understand Simon Katich’s disappointment at being cut from the 25-player list, a controversial development Clarke said he had no part in whatsoever.”He’s [Katich] been a great player for a long time, not just for NSW but for Australia,” Clarke told the . “He’s come back before and I have no doubt, if he continues to do what he’s been doing, you never know what can happen in this great game.”When you become captain you don’t become a selector so I had absolutely nothing to do with that [Katich’s axing]. That’s a selector’s job. I sent Simon a text once I found out. Obviously I feel his disappointment.”Clarke, however, was happy with the young talent in Australia’s centrally contracted players, especially the fast bowlers. “It’s great to see some young guys getting the opportunity,” he said. “Pat Cummins, I think it’s fantastic for him. I know he’s really excited, along with James Pattinson. I think it’s about a mixture of experience and youth.”Clarke’s first Test assignment as full-time captain is a tour to Sri Lanka, which will be followed by a trip to South Africa and a home series against India. He hopes to earn the respect of his charges through performance. “For me its about performing on the field and hopefully I’ll earn their respect,” he said. “I’ve shown throughout my career that I have always put representing my state and country first and foremost. I love what I do.”To earn that respect, though, Clarke will have to overcome a personal challenge. He averaged 56 at No. 5 and nearly 50 at No, 6, positions at where he’s batted for most of his 69-Test career. He’s moved to No. 4 though, with Michael Hussey dropping down the order, where he averages only 20 in 24 innings.”It’s a position I want to bat in. I love batting at four,” Clarke said. “I love being closer to the new ball because you get the chance to get in earlier and set yourself to bat for a long time. What those numbers say to me is that I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Batting has been West Indies’ major worry in the recent past but an improved performance in Barbados that helped them save the second Test earned praise from their captain Darren Sammy

Sriram Veera at the Kensington Oval03-Jul-2011Batting has been West Indies’ major worry in the recent past, but an improved performance in Barbados that helped them save the second Test earned praise from their captain Darren Sammy. He admitted India – who perhaps would have chosen otherwise had Chris Gayle been playing – made a sporting declaration, perhaps keeping West Indies’ fragility with the bat in mind, and that he was satisfied with the team’s approach in their chase of 281 and the end result.”We believed we had a chance of getting the target,” Sammy said. “The coach outlined the stages, and by tea and with15 overs left, we were right on target. But we lost more wickets than we anticipated, and we don’t have control over the weather. I think Ravi Rampaul has shown he is capable of batting for long periods. [Devendra] Bishoo as well. We never know what could have happened. I am happy that we ended with a draw and we could go to Dominica and try to level the series.”Four Tests into this season, West Indies’ batting has looked frail, though there were positives in this Test. Marlon Samuels sparkled in the first innings and Darren Bravo gritted it out in the second. Samuels was fiercely focussed and Bravo promised to be the future. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the senior-most batsmen, batted for lengthy periods in both innings and Carlton Baugh, under pressure, showed excellent character in the second. Most of the pieces of the puzzle are slowly falling into place. A couple of tricky ones are not. Lendl Simmons hasn’t looked convincing at the Test level and Ramnaresh Sarwan has continued to flounder.”We could do much better, but at least we saw guys taking a little bit of responsibility and scoring some runs for us,” Sammy said. “Samuels’ innings was very good for us. He batted for a long time and had a long partnership with Shiv [Chanderpaul]. Bravo and Baugh did well in the second innings. We still have lot of room for improvement. We are not getting 300 runs on the board. If we can get runs, we can put pressure on India.”Carlton Baugh batted well under pressure•AFP

Baugh’s unbeaten 46 under pressure would have warmed the cockles of West Indian hearts. It was he who increased the possibility of an unlikely victory. Bravo set it up with a very responsible knock, Chanderpaul helped it linger before his effort was cut short by an umpiring error and Baugh nearly brought it to fruition.With regard to Chanderpaul’s lbw, Sammy said: “With DRS system, these things could be avoided but that’s been part of problem for long time. People will make mistakes. It’s up to us.”When Baugh walked in after Chanderpaul’s dismissal, the Kensington Oval was alive and buzzing. It was the best crowd of the series so far. Entry was free on the final day and by tea a fair number of people had come in. There was hope in the Caribbean air. “The way Carlton came out and batted was great. He was under pressure, and he and Bravo really steadied us. I have spoken about Bravo before. Since he made his Test debut in Sri Lanka, he has done very well. All sportsmen go through a bit of [a bad] patch. It showed his character, how he batted for team. He put us in a position where we could win or draw.”Before the Baugh-Bravo pairing got the crowd excited, West Indies batted in a measured fashion. After the openers and Sarwan had been dismissed, Chanderpaul and Bravo ensured there was no collapse. “We had a game plan. We just wanted to bat as long as possible,” Sammy said. “Play normal cricket. We have batsmen who will score runs. We have boundary-hitters. So we knew that with 15 overs to go if we needed 90 runs or so with seven batsmen left, we could get to the target. Unfortunately, we lost a few wickets.”In the end, the rain helped extricate West Indies from a tricky position. Sammy was asked whether he felt West Indies can beat India. “Of course. We have to score more runs. We restrict them to low totals but they restrict us to even lower totals. Had we scored 350 in the first innings, we could have had a lead of 150 and it could have been a different ball game. We will beat India when we, as a batting unit, put up scores.”

Jonathan Trott has overtaken Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara to be rated the second best Test batsman in the world

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jul-2011James Anderson has leapfrogged team-mate Graeme Swann to take the No.2 spot in the bowling rankings, while Jonathan Trott has overtaken Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara to be rated the second best Test batsman in the world.Anderson has achieved his career-best mark – this is the first time he has touched 800 points – following his second-innings figures of 5 for 65 on the final day at Lord’s, when he claimed the key wickets of Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar and Suresh Raina. It has put him ahead of Swann who, despite playing an important role in both innings, only claimed two wickets.Trott scored a vital 70 in England’s first innings at Lord’s, where he batted in the toughest conditions on the first day to help set the home side a platform. Kevin Pietersen followed that with an unbeaten 202, which has been enough to propel him back into the top 20.”That first innings total was a magnificent performance and Kevin was mainly responsible for that,” Andrew Strauss, the England captain, said. “That was one of the great innings I’ve seen since being involved [with cricket], in very difficult circumstances. He had to be smart in the way he played their seamers, he had to graft and then when we had the opportunity to attack, he attacked. Jonathan Trott also showed great temperament and technique to get to 70.”Matt Prior, who hit 71 and an unbeaten 103 has also achieved a new career-best rating, rising 10 places to 21st. Chris Tremlett’s four wickets in the match have helped him to ninth place in the bowlers rankings, while Stuart Broad climbs four places and has also moved to fifth in the all-rounders’ table.India still have two bowlers in the top ten with Zaheer Khan, who is expected to miss the Trent Bridge Test due to injury, and Ishant Sharma lying in fifth and seventh place respectively. In the batting top ten, apart from Tendulkar in fourth, India have VVS Laxman in seventh while Virender Sehwag, who missed the Lord’s Test through injury, has dropped to 10th.

ESPNcricinfo previews the Bulawayo Test between Zimbabwe and Pakistan

The Preview by Nitin Sundar31-Aug-2011

Match facts

In a team full of tyros, Misbah-ul-Haq’s leadership will be crucial for Pakistan•AFP

September 1 – 5, Bulawayo
Start time 10:00 (8:00 GMT, 13:30 IST)

Big Picture

Zimbabwe’s season for consolidating gains continues as they make another baby step into the wild. Outlasting Bangladesh’s cavalier bunch on their Test return was momentous, but the real challenge begins now.That win was founded upon Zimbabwe’s resilience, and Bangladesh helped their cause by blinking first. Given that patience will once again be their calling card, Zimbabwe won’t mind running into the masters of volatility themselves. Add the fact that Pakistan have arrived with a second-string squad, and indications are that we could be in for five interesting days in Bulawayo.A look at the Pakistan squad suggests they may have overused the rotation system. The 17-member party includes four players uncapped in Tests, and five others with a combined experience of 24 Tests. The coach Waqar Younis is happy to have a bunch unfettered by the politics and controversy that have dogged Pakistan’s cricket for long – “It is easier to deal with them,” is how he chooses to put it. But deep down, Waqar will be aware that the fresh minds will need guidance through the hard yards of Test cricket in alien conditions, even if the opponents are not the most fearsome. Plenty will ride of Pakistan’s experienced trio – Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, and Shoaib Malik, whose international career takes off yet again.Pakistan’s performance in the warm-up game raised cause for concern, as their batsmen – barring Younis and the impressive Azhar Ali – crumbled against an attack similar to the one they will face in the Test. The batting was suspect on the tour of the West Indies as well, especially on the tricky wicket at Guyana where Darren Sammy’s induckers tormented them. Brian Vitori and Kyle Jarvis are capable of probing those weaknesses further – are Pakistan’s newbies ready for the challenge?

Form guide

(Most recent first)
Zimbabwe W (They have played only one Test since September 2005)
Pakistan WLDWD

In the spotlight

Stop the press – Shoaib Malik is back again. He’s not yet 30, but he’s had a stint as captain, been banned by the PCB on disciplinary grounds before making a comeback, and been left out without explanation before being cleared by an integrity committee. There is a sense of symmetry to everything that has so far happened in his career, but there’s one wrong he should be itching to correct. He has only played 32 sporadic Tests for Pakistan, averaging under 35 with the bat, while his bowling average is a woeful 61.47. The numbers are ordinary, especially when compared with his ODI record. Here’s a chance to start afresh.Brendan Taylor was inspirational both as batsman and captain against Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe will look to their leader once again. In seven innings across the Test and the five ODIs in that series, Taylor hit two centuries and a 71, but also ran up scores of 10, 3, 4 and 0. Admittedly, the failures were in the ODIs, but Taylor will be aware of the fact that he is at his most vulnerable early in his innings. Pakistan’s seamers, the whippy left-armer Junaid Khan in particular, will be keen to nab him cheaply.

Team news

Malik sat out of the warm-up fixture, but given Pakistan’s underwhelming batting effort in that game, he could be in line for a Test comeback. If Malik is included, Pakistan will have three offspinning options of similar vintage, with Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez more or less certain to play. Junaid will spearhead the inexperienced seam attack in Sohail Tanvir’s company, while Aizaz Cheema and Sohail Khan are likely to fight it out for the remaining spots.Pakistan (possible): 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Taufeeq Umar, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Umar Akmal / Shoaib Malik, 7 Adnan Akmal (wk), 8 Junaid Khan, 9 Saeed Ajmal, 10 Sohail Tanvir, 11 Aizaz Cheema / Sohail KhanGreg Lamb had Pakistan’s middle order in a fix in the tour game, earning him a spot in the squad. With Elton Chigumbura out with a knee injury, Lamb could force his way into the middle order. Malcolm Waller is also in the squad, with Keegan Meth injured, but is unlikely to feature in the XI.Zimbabwe: (possible): 1 Tino Mawoyo, 2 Vusi Sibanda, 3 Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Brendan Taylor (capt), 5 Craig Ervine, 6 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 7 Greg Lamb, 8 Ray Price, 9 Kyle Jarvis, 10 Chris Mpofu, 11 Brian Vitori

Pitch and conditions

The conditions at the Queens Sports Club tend to aid batsmen, with spin coming into the game in a big way in the latter stages. The pitch has some grass, though not green enough to leave batsmen anxious. With the temperature touching 28 degrees, the strip is expected to dry out quickly and flatten into a batting beauty. The seamers’ best chance will be with the new ball, and both teams will be keen to make first use of the pitch.

Stats and trivia

• Two of Zimbabwe’s four Test wins against top-flight opposition came against Pakistan, including their first ever victory in the format, in Harare in 1995
• Misbah-ul-Haq is yet to lose a Test series as captain. His tenure includes drawn series against South Africa and West Indies, and victory against New Zealand – all in away tours
• With 5617 runs, Younis Khan is the fifth-highest run-getter in Pakistan’s Test history, 151 behind Saleem Malik who is fourth

Quotes

“We still have a lot to prove and to show the world that we are a worthy Test team, but in time we will be able to do that.”

“I have really enjoyed working with him and he has helped all of us. He is the one that makes the difficult decisions and we will miss him a lot.”