Pakistan seize control

A Pakistan fan celebrates his side's impressive performance

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Thursday, 17, Aug 2006 07:55

An impressive performance by Pakistan's bowlers reduced England to 173 all out on the first day of the fourth Test in south London.

Pakistan's batsmen then took the tourists, who have already lost the series 2-0, to 96-1 before close of play on the rain-affected first day at the Brit Oval.

Defenders of England's players might point to the inclement weather, which prevented all but eight overs in the morning session, as an excusing factor in their miserable fall from grace.

Although the cloudy conditions give help to the bowling side, however, it was the combination of sloppy shotmaking from England's top order and the potent combination of Umar Gul and Mohammad Asif which brought about England's downfall.

Marcus Trescothick never looked comfortable during his 43-ball six, while Kevin Pietersen was out first ball to Asif.

Failures from Paul Collingwood (five) and Ian Bell (nine) did not help England's cause, reducing them to 134-6 in a disastrous mid-afternoon session.

Although wicketkeeper Chris Read offered some spirited resistance, his fall for 33 and the departure of last man Monty Panesar from the next ball gave Pakistan the chance of a sizeable first innings lead.

Pakistan progressed rapidly towards England's total, although Mohammad Hafeez was forced to retire hurt with the score on 35-0 after a problem with his right leg.

Apart from the loss of Younis Khan for nine, they edged up to England's total and trailed by 77 runs when stumps were finally called at the late hour of 19:35 BST.

Today's plaudits are due to the Pakistan strike bowlers, however. Gul ended with 4-47 and Asif took 3-56 at a cheaper economy for Pakistan, leading many supporters of the sub-continental team to wonder at what might have been had he been present for the first three Tests of this series.