Mouth watering battles ahead - Part 1 Author: Maaz; Views: 311; Date: 24-12-2011, 16:22;

Strauss vs Misbah

Both leaders are very diplomatic, educated and  experienced. They are two of the most well polished individuals in the sport with their off field achievements to complement their on-field sublime consistency and cherishing track records. These qualities will surely be useful in rejuvenating the relations between the two countries as both leaders present  a thorough professional account of their side in their mannerisms, level headed  quotes and ability to speak professionally with the press. Negative headlines  and poor sportsmanship does not serve any healthy purpose to promote sport and both surely will be doing their level best to ensure things do not go out of bounds. 

Both captains are tactically and strategically well known for their credentials amongst their team members and both like to lead from the front and set the example. Both of them have top notch slip fielding capabilities. Both of them know how to gel and extract the best out of their teams. Both of them have test averages in the 40s and are willing workers at the crease. Both of them are in their mid to late 30s. Both have a set and well tried workable strategy they employ at the toss if they end up calling correctly. Both have that element of sedateness and classicalness in their batting approaches. Both are controversy free characters. Both are generally rated highly by pundits. Whoever performs better could turn out to be a decisive factor in the final outcome. 

I think Strauss is susceptible to spin bowling on the slow and low wickets in the UAE whereas Misbah knows the conditions better than most which will give him somewhat of an advantage to capitalise on. Moreover, some of the Pakistan bowlers have seen Strauss before whereas Misbah hasn’t played a test against England before. Strauss last played an international in August whereas Misbah has been playing all 3 formats regularly. Misbah has the height and physic to counter the tall English seamers and is pretty sound and steady against all types of spin bowling so will negotiate with Swann who will be far less threatening than his dominance in 2010 where he averaged just 12 per wicket. Strauss prefers pace on the ball and spin will be an integral part of deciding this series so the Middlesex opener will need to adapt. There might even be a temptation to give the new cherry to the Professor first up with Strauss and Cook both being left handers. Misbah will know the importance of removing Strauss early and will be doing his level best to give him some headaches in the field when he walks out to bat with his solid temperament, measured approach and firm resistance. One can expect him to outshine his counterpart. 

Swann vs Ajmal

The ultimate battle of the series. Saeed Ajmal is the number 1 bowler in ODIs and number 2 in T20 internationals whereas in tests he was the leading wicket taker last year with 50 scalps which no one else had achieved in just 8 tests. Swann on the other hand was considered as the number 1 spinner in the world pre 2011 and in the early stages of 2011 and even still nowadays by many. Swann was phenomenal against Pakistan when they toured in 2010 with his sharp spinning off breaks and nagging guile, albeit against a weakened Pakistan batting line up. He is more of a conventional off spinner who will plug away with dip, drift and focus on maintaining a strong line and length, enabling him to attack both sides of the bat. Against left handed batsmen, Swann is a clever operator bringing the slip and LBW into the equation with straighter ones, non turners and ones which fizz past the outside edge. However, Pakistan only has 1 left hander in their top 7. Saeed Ajmal is more threatening and possesses greater variety with his ability to bowl both sides of the wicket and turn the balls both ways sharply as well as getting his deliveries to skid and zip off the surface, varying his trajectory and bowling at a variable pace in the air. The batsmen always tend to be searching against him and Saeed has played enough at the highest level now that he can figure out batsmen himself and really understand his strengths properly. I expect the solid, dependable, technically well equipped and disciplined Pakistan batting line up to play Swann better whereas the England top order might have more trouble picking up on Ajmal’s wide range of deliveries whereas for the tail they wouldn’t stand much of a chance unless Ajmal is bowling poorly and if recent form is anything to go by, he certainly shouldn’t. Ajmal will be pumped up to show his uniqueness and one expects him to do better, especially considering the greatest player of spin between the two teams is from the hosts, Younis Khan.

Trott vs Azhar Ali

This will be a key battle between these two resilient, determined, steady, spirited, mentally strong and workman alike gritty crease occupiers who can scrap, graft and value their presence in the middle with their disciplined approach and exemplary defensive game plans to provide the balance, variation and stability in posting totals and battling through sessions with character, heart and a clear sense of plan. They can tire,frustrate, grind, apply, accumulate and gradually work over the opposition step by step with unflappable concentration, tight line of defence, patience to absorb the pressure and tough it out and also the stamina and self trust to last the duration. Who will be tougher and more irritating to dismantle and dislodge? Both will be looking to outperform each other and provide more trouble than the other to the opposing bowlers. From Pakistan’s point of view, they will be hoping Azhar can show the same levels of gutsiness, application and grittiness to get stuck in or dig in deep and long through long partnerships, wicket less sessions and regular 250-300 minute innings and beyond. Azhar should be targeting to perform to same level if not better than Trott, at least through a 'psychologically imposing angle' with at least 3 fighting half centuries during the course of the tour. His record in the UAE is quite remarkable with 5 half centuries and 1 century in 5 tests. Azhar has only been dismissed once for less than 50 in the luxurious set ups of the Middle East Dessert. Both have played 4 tests against each other and have been performing admirably at the all important one down position since debuting in 2009 and 2010 respectively. I back Azhar to notch up the scores and average above 40 in the series and potentially even do better than his opposing number. Misbah’s men can take plenty of confidence from Azhar’s emergence as the new “Wall” of world cricket, that can really provide the responsibility and dependability which is required at this level on a regular basis with such a chanceless and sturdy style of operation. His approach provides the direction, calmness, structure and re-assurance when taking things into perspective and Strauss could argue the same with the Warwickshire batsmen. Ali will compete well with Trott.