Dubai debacle a ‘slap in the face’

Published on Monday 23 January 2012 00:19

England have taken one “slap in the face” from Pakistan, and have no intention of letting their hosts land another blow in the second Test.

Andrew Strauss’ tourists, in their first series as the International Cricket Council’s official No 1 Test team, have not hidden from the fact their own batting let them down badly in the ten-wicket hammering in Dubai. As they moved on from Dubai to Abu Dhabi yesterday, there was an optimism and determination that they will quickly recover their composure and pride against Saeed Ajmal et al.

They must do that, of course, to stay alive in a three-Test series which decamps to the Zayed Cricket Stadium this week and will then conclude back in Dubai. If England are to retrace their steps still able to open their tough 2012 schedule with a winning series, in alien climes, for a start they will have to come to terms with off-spinner Ajmal’s deceptions and variations. They will not be obsessing about him, or his action, though, because England know they simply have to put their own house in order.

“This performance has given us a real good slap in the face,” wicketkeeper Matt Prior said of England’s three-day humbling at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. “We’re a proud bunch of players. We’re used to walking off the pitch having inflicted the sort of defeat they inflicted upon us, so it was a bitter pill to swallow. It’s taken a few days to get over it, but now there is a steely determination that it will not happen again.”

The lessons of Dubai will be headed by England’s costly diffidence against Ajmal in particular. But Prior warns of the dangers if England focus too much not just on the threat Ajmal poses but also on mutterings from afar that the off-spinner’s bowling delivery occasionally pushes the ICC’s limits of legality.

“The obvious thing is how we play spin and how we play Saeed Ajmal,” Prior said. “But it’s important we don’t get caught up with just one bloke. Umar Gul came in and took wickets in the second innings, so we just need to improve [our general game], really.”

Ajmal took a career-best seven for 55 in England’s dismal first innings, and ended up with a ten-wicket match haul. Yet controversy reigned after former England captain Bob Willis, a broadcast pundit back in London these days, began posing pointed questions about the angle of Ajmal’s arm in delivery.

Prior and captain Strauss quickly distanced England from the debate, but coach Andy Flower’s remarks were not quite so effective on that score. Umpires and match referee have seen no reason to investigate Ajmal’s action following the first Test.

Prior said: “It’s nothing to do with the players. We can’t get caught up in that. We have to concentrate on what is coming down at us on the pitch. It would be easy for players to make excuses after we’ve performed badly. ICC have stuff in place. We shouldn’t worry about things we don’t have to worry about.”

England know they could be portrayed as sore losers if they become too embroiled in calls for fresh monitoring of the off-spinner’s methods. They are not tempted to use a very fair Dubai pitch – on which they twice collapsed for under 200 – as an excuse for their under-performance either.

“It was a brilliant cricket wicket,” said Prior, who earned some respectability with an unbeaten first-innings 70. “The pitch isn’t one of the reasons that we lost. Shock results can happen. We have to play good enough cricket to force results in these last two matches.”

Logged in as:

Comment here. Start typing your comment here:

Post comment

Please adhere to our Community guidelines

Your view

Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.