England Cricket / Ed Hawkins / 29 July 2010 / Leave a Comment

Ed Hawkins is once again in the hotseat as England do battle in a home Test. Will Pakistan's swing kings topple the home team or can Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson do the damage?

CLOSE 18.33 Eng 331-4 Morgan 125, Collingwood 81
England will win this Test. And at [1.50] they don't rate a bad wager. They have fought hard through some difficult moments and ended up toally dominating. But it is the fifth ball of the 89th over that really inspires confidence in the hosts. The ball bounced twice to keeper Kamran Akmal off part-time spinner Imran Farhat. Pakistan will have to bat last on this. Pakistan [14.00] and the draw is [3.70]

18.03 Eng 310-4
In honour of Eoin Morgan, this post will be in Irish. Oi've ooncooovered de wee fiddly-dee interview oi did with foightin Oirish batsman Morgan last yeer. Shouldn't take more than tree minutes or so. Ah so. Feast your oise.

17.49 Eng 297-4
The fighting Irish. A Test century for Eoin Morgan. The guy's top notch. And by that I mean temperament. I firmly believe that there are a whole host of players in county cricket who have the 'eye' to play at the highest level. What the majority lack is the brain. Morgan's all about what's going on upstairs. A cool and collected cricketer with less natural ability scores more runs than a classy but chaotic cricketer. The difference between Morgan and Ravi Bopara, the man he beat to this chance, could not be more stark in that regard.

17.24 172-4
Pakistan haven't won consecutive Tests since 2005. You can see why. They've been woeful in the most important session of the day. England are heading south at [1.55]. Morgan has 87 and Collingwood 63. Interestingly, there is quite a gulf in odds between the duo for top-bat. Morgan, under Any Other, is [1.29] and Colly [2.60]. That seems too big a gap for what is only a 24-run difference.

17.11 Eng 252-4
Trains, a cold, the sun. Kamran Akmal couldn't catch any of them. Least of all a cricket ball travelling at more than 60mph. The Pakistan wicketkeeper - and we use that term in the loosest possible sense - has missed Paul Collingwood off Danish Kaneria. A simple stumping chance. Collingwood was down the pitch as if strolling in the sun on the prom. Behind him Kaneria was juggling the ball as if it was a particularly irate green mamba. Problems for Pakistan. Their work in the field has been pretty poor. Problems for punters. Nothing erodes confidence in a team like a childish fielding display.

16.56 Eng 239-4
Asif out of the attack. Gul in. A real chance for England to turn the screw. Given what we said earlier about how Collingwood and Morgan have prospered against Pakistan's three other bowlers, backing the hosts at [1.61] for an in and outback-to-lay could be wise.

16.32 Eng 216-4
Interviewed Eoin Morgan once. Very polite, even after I pronounced his name wrong. "It's 'Owen' not 'Yo-oyn'" he told me. He had just been called up for the England Twenty20 squad and it is interesting to note that playing Test cricket was not one his main goals at the time. It was all about the shorter formats of the game. That's the modern-day cricketer for you, I guess. Still, he's doing nicely here - 63 and counting - and has almost guaranteed himself a seat on the plane for the Ashes tour at the end of the year.

16.14 Eng 202-4
Much discussion about the pitch. It can be a bit of an obsession for cricket watchers. How often do you see people at a county game wander over to the square at a lunch break, stand, stare, do a bit of pointing, stroke their chin? All the time. And how many of them know what they're talking about? Not many. At the toss Sir Ian Botham reckoned this was one of the driest pitches he'd ever seen at Trent Bridge. Usually on this blog we listen intently to what Sirloin of Beef has to say, and then plan for the opposite. He may be right this time, though. Michael Holding has explained exactly why with a clever graphic detailing the inconsistent bounce and said that it could be very difficult to bat last. It could be that chasing anything more than 200 in fourth-innings could be tricky indeed. First Test 50 for Morgan, by the way.

16.00 Eng 194-4
Aamer kicks us off again. Remember, Pakistan are at their most dangerous when the young left-armer and Mohammad Asif are operating together. England are [1.67], Pakistan [4.60] and the draw [4.80].

TEA 14.41 Eng 190-4
A partnership of 72 from Eoin Morgan and Paul Collingwood has pulled England from the brink of disaster. There is still work to do, of course, because Asif and Aamer will return in tandem (see 15.22) after the break and an early breakthrough puts the day back in the balance. Still, if England can post 320 or more they will be confident of victory. There are concerns about whether the wicket will hold together. More on that later.

15.22 Eng 172-4
Test match betting is not all about being right at the end of five days. It can be about being right after five overs or a session or a day. What helps us to have profitable trades is to know when runs will be scored or won't. There are signs here that Pakistan are vulnerable when Asif and Aamer are out of the attack. They have looked pretty toothless without them, expensive, too and Collingwood and Morgan are looking cosy. Since Asif bowled the last over of his spell, England have scored 47 runs in nine overs from Malik, Gul and Kaneria. That is a run rate of 5.2 an over. Bear that in mind for future reference throughout this series.

14.53 Eng 128-4
Just a brief explanation of why Collingwood is such a good player in a crisis. It's all in the backlift. Or rather a lack of one. Colly doesn't bother in an effort to cut out loose shots and reduce the risk of edging behind to a ball which has seamed or swung. Andrew Strauss' dismissal is a good example of the difference between someone with a backlift and Collingwood at the moment. Strauss could be criticised for playing an 'airy fairy' shot but because his hands were high and his bat further away from his body, he was more likely to edge. Collingwood is totally the opposite.

14.32 Eng 125-4
It's perspiration not inspiration for England. In Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan they have two gritty and obdurate batsmen perfectly suited to battling the Pakistan swing attack. England's selectors have been vindicated to a certain extent, too. Had Ravi Bopara been picked instead of Morgan, the poor lad would most certainly have been all at sea. Pakistan will have to be disciplined to prise one of them out. But if they do, the conditions do not suit Prior or Swann to follow. This is a key partnership.

14.13 Eng 118-4
Pakistan are at their best here folks. The ball is swinging and Aamer and Asif, who we highlighted as being the men to put England in jeopardy earlier in the blog, are doing the business. Pakistan are as short as [3.05]. Eoin Morgan, the inexperienced No 6, faces a real examination of his credentials.

WICKET 14.12 Eng 118-4
J Trott lbw b Aamer 38

14.08 Eng 118-3
Pietersen runs out of luck. He looked like that old lawnmower left behind the back of your dad's shed: rusty. It would be unfair to say that KP missed a straight one, even if there was a big gap between bat and pad. Asif had lovely shape on it. He's bowling well and there is movement. Pakistan now as short as [4.20]. Feel free to trade out for our first winning wager of the series.

WICKET 14.07 Eng 116-3
K Pietersen b Asif 9

14.03 Eng 109-2
Pietersen is living dangerously. He has survived leg before and caught behind referrals. Pakistan now have no UDRs left this innings. They were quite right to go for both. KP was actually out leg before. Hawkeye showed it clipping the stumps but the margin was too small to convince the ump to change his mind. I can tell you that Pietersen is not often a guy who needs to be asked twice to score runs. Look through his big scores in Tests down the years and you will spot that he has often early on been a lucky boy.

13.45 Eng 104-2
Back after the break. Kevin Pietersen continues to look nervy. He should feel at home. KP has batted at this ground in first-class cricket more times than at any other - a sizeable 52 times. He averages 44.60 with eight centuries. If we filter our study to include only Tests, it is less impressive. He averages 37 but even that is slightly skewed. His one century, which came last time out, bumps up that average. Previously he had not passed 50. KP is [4.00] to top score and [2.06] to score a 50.

LUNCH 13.02 Eng 103-2
England's session. They started the day at [1.81] and end it [1.69]. Jonathan Trott (35 not out) is England's glue at the moment, although Kevin Pietersen has looked as though he might come unstuck at any moment. After the break, we'll put KP under the microscope. Back in 40. Pakistan [5.60] and the draw [4.30]

12.51 Eng 93-2
"Great time to take a wicket, get Pietersen in before lunch," says Nasser Hussain. Aye. KP is a dreadful starter these days and has been in poor form. Pakistan back in it at [5.50]. If they claim another wicket here before the break, they will have ended the session shorter than they started it.

WICKET 12.47 Eng 93-2
A Strauss c Akmal b Aamer 45

12.46 Eng 92-1
We're approaching lunch as Aamer returns, this time from the Radcliffe Road end. He has bowled well this morning, getting swing with good pace. But as it stands this has to go down as England's session. In truth they've dominated and Pakistan have rather wasted an opportunity make inroads with that early morning swing.

12.33 Eng 79-1
Trott gets a leg before overturned thanks to the UDRS. He hit it. Nice impartiality from Nasser Hussain who can't resist a "YES!!" when seeing the thick inside edge.

12.26 Eng 79-1
Kamran Akmal's ability as a wicketkeeper has long been in question. He did little to distance himself from the critics this morning with a dreadful, dreadful drop from Andrew Strauss' edge. Iron gloves, symbol hands, call him what you like. I'm going for pizza fingers on the basis of this video.

12.16 Eng 64-1
The Umpire Review Decision System is in place for this Test. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is the source of much anger and consternation, whether you are in favour of it, against it, or interchangeable between the two depending on whether the bloke you've backed for top-bat has been diddled/got lucky. UDRS for short, feel free to cry "pull the udr one!" if it goes against you.

12.00 Eng 47-1
Jonathan Trott has replaced Cook at the crease. He has a good record at this venue. A total of 300 runs in six innings with an average of 50, including one century, is good enough to warrant a peruse of Trott markets. He is [2.38] to score a 50 and [4.10] for top England runscorer. He has also been in tremendous nick.

11.41 Eng 42-1
Aamer strikes and it is no surprise that it is Alastair Cook, who has more holes in his technique than a 16-year-old dish cloth, first to go. Granted it has probably come 20 runs too late for our trade on Pakistan but another one now and they'll dip alarmingly, a bit like this cherry at the mo, from [5.00].

WICKET 11.37 Eng 42-1
A Cook c Farhat b Aamer 8

11.20 Eng 22-0
Of course we can analyse and research all we like to convince ourselves that Pakistan are a decent trade this morning. But we can't take the chances for them. Kamran 'Iron Gloves' Akmal has dropped Strauss off Aamer. Regulation stuff, folks.

11.15 Eng 12-0
There is swing for Aamer and Asif. Too much in fact. Asif looks the most likely to get a wicket at the moment, bending the ball back into the left-handed Strauss and Cook. The skies above Trent Bridge are heavy, which helps, but otherwise the venue's reputation for bowler-friendly conditions is a curious one. Theories abound, including the building of new stands have helped 'trap' moisture in the atmosphere.

11.00 Eng 0-0
The general consensus is that England were right to bat first. Sir Ian Botham says it was a "no brainer", which is surely the pot calling the kettle black. We're not unduly concerned by the former and definitely not by the latter. Backing Pakistan at [5.20] now could pay off in the first 20 minutes. It's wunderkind Aamer to start us off...

10.51 England win the toss and bat first
The pitch looks pretty good at Trent Bridge. But I must say I'm surprised England have decided to bat first. Pakistan are at their most dangerous, thanks to Aamer and Asif, in conditions which help swing bowlers while they are most vulnerable when asked to bat in such a situation. Read our first Test preview here. We advised backing the side that got to bowl first and can't see any reason to change our mind.

10.45 England win the toss and bat first
England team: AJ Strauss*, AN Cook, IJL Trott, KP Pietersen, PD Collingwood, EJG Morgan, MJ Prior†, GP Swann, SCJ Broad, JM Anderson, ST Finn

Pakistan team: Imran Farhat, Salman Butt*, Azhar Ali, Umar Amin, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal†, Mohammad Aamer, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Asif

10.33 England win the toss and bat first
Good morning sports fans. Welcome to our in-running betting blog for the first Test. We're back after a mini-hiatus. Oh no, we don't get out of bed in the morning for Bangladesh. Pakistan have us leaping from our slumber like spring livestock, however.

There is a spring in the step of Andrew Strauss, who has decided to bat first. We're not too sure about that decision. More on that later, though. Here are the prices: England [1.81], Pakistan [4.10] and the draw [4.80].

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