5 reasons why the Pakistan-England series could be just as interesting as the India-SA series
Pakistan play England in a high-stakes yet relatively unknown seriesAs the series between India and South Africa chugs through its initial third, not many have noticed that England have quietly been preparing for their tour of the UAE which beings on Tuesday. With the heavyweight clash of India and South Africa occupying the centre of attention of most fans, the England-Pakistan series has managed to get by without garnering much attention.As the celebrations in England over the hard-fought Ashes victory come to a close, the English team has found itself waiting for their next big test a subcontinent tour against Pakistan. Pakistan have also been successful in their last two series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe and are sitting pretty at the moment, waiting for the series to begin.The series will comprise of three tests, four ODIs and three T20s and will be played in three cities Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. As the first Test is set to begin on Tuesday, England will be hoping to add another feather to their cap with a victory in the UAE, while Pakistan will look to re-establish their near invulnerability at their adopted home. With the focus firmly on the Gandhi-Mandela series, cricket fans might miss quite a lot of action unless they tune into the Pakistan-England series.Lets take a look at five reasons why this series will be as interesting as the India-South Africa series:
#1 The Rise of New England
Much has been said about England’s pathetic run in ODIs and their failure to get a move-on while batting in the middle overs. Their reliance on “ugly batting” led them being knocked out of the World Cup by Bangladesh, and they were heavily criticized due to their inability to adapt to the modern game.
As a result, the English team was given a complete make-over during their home series against New Zealand. Experienced players were rested, and younger players were put into the fray. Cricketers who had made a name for themselves as power-hitters in the domestic circuit were favoured over England’s more orthodox batsmen in the hopes of scoring faster in ODIs.
The result was instantaneous. Dubbed “New England”, the team scored 408 in the first ODI against New Zealand – the first time they passed the 400 run mark. They crossed 300 runs in the next three games as well, thus winning the series 3-2.
In the ODI series against Australia, they proved that it wasn’t a one-time thing as they nearly gave the Australians a run for their money in the hard fought series. With players like Jason Roy and Alex Hales opening the batting, England made full use of the powerplay and consistently scored 50 runs or more in the first ten overs.
Their middle order is well supported by Joe Root, Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler, with the captain himself leading from the front. The focus will be on Root especially as he will look to increase his run tally in the subcontinent, where he has not played much.
David Willey and Mark Wood will share the new ball, with Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali acting as the spinners. Against Pakistan in their backyard, New England will have to pull out all the stops to overcome their opponents in the series.
Perhaps the most exciting new thing in ODIs, the England team must look to get the basics right and perform better in all three departments of the game. Eoin Morgan has scored 13 scores of fifty or more in his first 27 matches as captain, and he will look to maintain the same in the coming series. With other important series coming straight up after this one, England must maintain the same level of consistency if they are to repair their damaged name in the shorter format of the game.