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Tuesday 28 February 2012

Two out of Three Ain't Bad?

So England's tour "of" Pakistan - in the UAE - has concluded, and England has won two out of the three components. As the great Mr Loaf sang "Two out of Three Ain't Bad". And, on the surface, coming home with a 2-1 result doesn't look awful. Last night, as the last match ended with a last ball winner, I was happy enough to enjoy the success in a glass half full manner. It'd certainly be an OK margin by which to win a football match. However, dig a little bit deeper and it's revealed that the scoreline represents winning the ODI matches 4-0 and the T20 matches 2-1 … but losing the Test matches 0-3. And, for the Number 1 Test Team in the World - at least at the moment and then dependent upon South Africa not whitewashing New Zealand - surely it ain't good enough?

I was very excited about the tour. The first Test started on my birthday: surely that was a good omen? Clearly not. The night before, it was the thought of waking at 5.30 am for the toss and start of play thirty minutes later that kept me awake … rather than the prospect of opening birthday presents and cards well before dawn on a mid-January morning. As it was, the most pleasing thing about that first morning session, watched from the warmth of my bed with a comforting cuppa, was noticing that at one stage the score (17-1) matched the date: 17 January. I even got up before the end of the first session, such was the speed with which my hopes and anticipation had dissipated.

In all three formats of the game, the bowlers outplayed the batsmen comprehensively. But particularly in the Test matches, it just seemed as if the batsmen failed to turn up. Their approach seemed wrong: disinterested, "it's against spin what d'you expect me to do?", "someone else'll get the runs", uncommitted and wildly rash. The middle order barely fired at all: three of the most lauded players - Bell, Morgan and Pietersen- managed fewer than 200 runs in total between them. Strauss, Cook and Prior had their, albeit rare, moments - as did Trott, although as always I struggle to remember his (despite him becoming the fourth fastest England player to 2000 runs). The statistics are dismal and abysmal. England scored over 200 only twice in the series. Non-one scored a century and there were only five fifties. Prior alone averaged over 30 (helped by two not outs), Bell's average was in single figures and Pietersen and Morgan only just scraped into two figures. All three were inferior to Broad and Swann, and Bell only surpassed Panesar and Tremlett, who both batted at eleven and played only two and one matches respectively.

Having got used - eventually and only as England secured their Number One status late last summer - to England being OK - even pretty good - at cricket again, the way the three matches unfolded was reminiscent of the very bad old days and I quickly returned to expecting the worst. It was an approach proven to lessen the pain of the inevitable. I was even back to getting mildly irritated when they very occasionally - such as bowling Pakistan out for 99 in the first innings of the last match - did good … as I knew it was only going to worsen the disappointment and misery of the inevitable downturn that would swiftly follow.

Prior to the tour beginning, I was expecting England to win the Test series and that the ODIs and T20s were much less predictable, but I wouldn't have been surprised if Pakistan had had the upper hand. That it turned out to be the complete opposite is a big surprise and I'm not quite sure what it says about the state of England cricket. The one-day and T20 teams looked like teams: they played for each other and the match result. Making runs, taking wickets, fielding well mattered to them. Even KP seemed a bit fussed by his poor performance, saying, with masterful understatement after the second match, that he was "frustrated" by his form. So were we Nuts, so were we. But for once it wasn't just words and he went on to score a century in each of the last two matches (his first since 2008) and recorded a career best of 130. The four limited over matches were not all easy wins but they were convincing and the T20 series started on a high note … and quickly plummeted as the first match was lost. The team regrouped, won the second easily and took the third to an exciting/scary conclusion as Pakistan were left needing six off the last ball to win … and failed as Jade Dernbach cleaned bowled Misbah.

Three captains for the tour seemed strange but choosing the right man for each format is logical and has worked: Captain Fantastic for the Tests, his anointed successor, Captain Cook, for the ODIs - how quickly we forget that Cook came home from Australia after the marvellous Ashes victory and didn't play the limited overs matches there - and the angelic Stuart Broad for the T20s. Great to see a bowler getting a chance to lead his team. I see no reason not to continue this approach. It spreads the pressure, aids concentration and, due to the personalities of the three, gives the captain of the day the support of others as, when, if he requires.

As England fly home, and the team for the strange two match series in Sri Lanka starting in four weeks' time is announced (Morgan omitted as anticipated), how do I rate the series? Absorbing, intriguing and unexpected. Great entertainment. Played with great and respectful spirits, which has sadly not been the case recently between the two teams (don't remind me of all that time sitting at The Oval in 2006 while Pakistan refused to take the field). One worries about what needs to happen for the Test team to regain the confidence, skill, supremacy and glory of last summer, but playing on home ground is surely going to help. Will Bopara ever get a settled place in the team or is he destined to return to being the first choice name on the sheet for twelfth man? And, perhaps most surprisingly, based on how he played in the last two ODIs and the three T20s, rather than the scores he made - although they were most welcome, I'm almost ready to acknowledge KP as being worthy of the label of a Surrey man! Not that we're likely to see him play much - if at all - at The Oval this summer either.

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