LONDON: Whoever said that cricket was a funny game cannot have been a close student of the ways of the Pakistan team. Now it is seriously funny. At any rate I bet the England side is rolling around laughing at the moment because in the last few days the Pakistan management has pulled two of the weirdest strokes in my experience. And you have to remember that I have been around the England side for the last 25 years.

Pakistan has been second in the world merit table for most of this year, one place ahead of England after defeating it 2-0 in Pakistan last November. It has three of the finest middle order batsmen in the world but injuries and lack of form have meant Pakistan is now 2-0 down with only the fourth Test left to play.

When it begins on Thursday Pakistan will be without both Salman Butt and Taufeeq Umar, the opening batsmen for the Leeds Test and will have used four different opening pairs in the series.

Big problem

The selectors have been so "disappointed" with the way Butt and Umar played at Leeds — when they had stands of 34 and 10 — that they have sent them home and brought in Mohammad Hafeez, 24, who last played three years ago, to partner Faisal Iqbal.

Butt had scores of 74, 122, 26, 50 and 28 against England in Pakistan; there must be a big problem inside the camp if he has gone backwards so quickly.

As its coach Bob Woolmer has one of the brightest cricket brains it is difficult to believe he is responsible. It cannot have been Woolmer's suggestion to send the pair home; nor can he have wanted 21 players coming and going during the tour.

He describes the atmosphere as one of "controlled chaos." My dictionary says chaos is "a state of utter confusion and disorder." That sounds a lot nearer the truth. Shoaib Akhtar will not play but Woolmer suggested that Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Mohammad Asif might return after weeks out injured. England will probably be unchanged, one way of cricket that Duncan Fletcher, the coach, has got right. Its victories in the last two Tests have shown the level of confidence expected after the Ashes success but which has been delayed by injuries.

If England can beat Pakistan again it will be breathing down the necks of the Australians when the Ashes series begins, exerting a pressure that will be difficult to resist if some of the injured return.

If Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles and the rest don't get well in time we now know just what the new boys have.

Ian Bell, with three hundreds in successive Tests, Monty Panesar, with 31 wickets in his first nine Tests and Sajid Mahmood, with 90 miles an hour whenever he wants and a few miles an hour more to come.

England also has a choice behind the stumps with either the cultured Chris Read, or the gutsy Geraint Jones who has taken all the criticism and come back stronger.

All five have benefited from the selectors' determination to give every player a fair chance. There appears to be a lesson there for Pakistan.

The teams (from):

England: Andrew Strauss (capt.), Marcus Trescothick, Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Chris Read, Sajid Mahmood, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, Monty Panesar, Jon Lewis.

Pakistan: Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Shahid Nazir, Mohammad Sami, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria, Faisal Iqbal, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Mohammad Asif.

Umpires: Darrell Hair (Australia) and Billy Doctrove (West Indies). TV umpire: Peter Hartley, Match referee: Mike Procter (South Africa).

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