England looks to a change of fortune

By Ted Corbett

KARACHI, DEC. 6. Thumbing through Colin Cowdrey's career this week I found how difficult a time he had in the Caribbean during the 1967-8 tour when England won the only Test in five that went to a decision.

Throughout he was told that the multi-talented West Indies was far better and yet his batsmen made the decisive dart for victory by seven wickets in Trinidad and his last two batsmen Alan Knott and Jeff Jones held out for a draw in the final Test in Guyana. In years to come the outcome of the 2000-1 tour to Pakistan may be viewed in the same way as Nasser Hussain's men reap the benefits of hard work.

To make the most of their endeavours they must win at the National Stadium where the third Test from Thursday will be played on a mucky pitch much like those in Lahore and Faisalabad. Frankly, it breaks a cricketer's heart to see such a mudheap. No doubt like the others it will produce turn from the start; but so little, so slowly that it will defy any bowler to surprise a batsman. If ICC wants to have a game to rule over it must bring in legislation, or its own pitch inspectorate, to stop this criminal waste of good turf.

Pakistan is ready to make changes but, having dropped Shahid Afridi it has had to recall him since the youngster Qaeser Abbas has dysentery. The local experts say that Wasim Akram should have been dropped in Faisalabad and that he will not play here. When I asked how stood the world with him this morning his answer was so distracted that I concluded he had heard bad news. Typically, neither management will announce their side until the morning.

England has a wider dilemma. Hussain is in a run of such bad luck and bad batting that he is praying for next year and a chance to start anew. Graeme Hick batted without spirit in the second Test and does not deserve another chance but the belief of Duncan Fletcher, the coach is that Hick is a sleeping giant may save him again. Besides Michael Vaughan, his obvious replacement is still injured, and Andrew Flintoff, third in line, has had one ball since the one-day series.

Ian Salisbury has batted well and bowled badly, but his CV says he should take wickets not make runs. Matthew Hoggard's swing bowling takes wickets among the also-rans of the warm-up matches but he has played only one Test and offers few runs; Andrew Caddick and Darren Gough provide only snarls and a cheeky grin on these pathetic pitches.

So, although it is time for a change, and as it is impossible for Hussain to drop out, there may be no changes. His Press briefing confirmed my earlier thoughts. ``Vaughan has failed his fitness test, Alec Stewart has tennis elbow and says he is 99 per cent fit so we will wait until the morning before we decide. Hick knows he has to make some runs.'' Note the present tense; it means Hick will get a new chance. If Stewart has to drop out and his understudy Paul Nixon make his debut Hussain will not want to add to the inexperience quotient by bringing in Hoggard. The team will stay the same.

As for the result let us hope the sporting gods see the miserable pitches the Pakistanis have prepared and the hard work put in by England and decide that justice will be served by an England victory. ``We'd be absolute mugs to not give it everything,'' said Hussain. He is due for a stroke of luck too after the cruel jokes played on him by two umpires in the last Test and if he leads his team away with a victory it will be no more than he deserves.

lThe teams (from): Pakistan: Moin Khan (captain), Saeed Anwar, Imran Nazir, Salim Elahi, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Abdur Razzaq, Wasim Akram, Danish Kaneria, Saqlain Mushtaq, Arshad Khan, Waqar Younis, Naumanullah, Faisal Iqbal, Shahid Afridi.

England: Nasser Hussain (captain), Michael Atherton, Marcus Trescothick, Graham Thorpe, Alec Stewart, Graeme Hick, Craig White, Ian Salisbury, Ashley Giles, Andrew Caddick, Darren Gough.

Umpires: Mohammad Nazir and Steve Bucknor (West Indies). Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)

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