England v Pakistan | 1st Test | Old Trafford, Manchester | 5-9 August, 2020 | Day 1 Thread

[Sunny_majoka]

Faheem should have Ben played instead of Yasir, we need four quicks

 

[uberkoen]

Lookin at what Abbas did on dead pitches vs Aus, he's going to be the one to watch here.

Definitely. Can't wait to see him bowl.

 

[imshally81]

Good running..

 

[Mueez]

Broad and Anderson down on speed today?

Or did they always bowl around 130-140kph?

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Great quick single

 

[Rayyman]

Openers have done their job well. Ideally one of them should score 50 plus, they have already brought middle order of Pakistan into play.

That would make sense if Pakistan had a good #3

But with an old Azhar Ali at that position, Pak. need a big opening partnership here. Hopefully 50+ at least.

 

[Titan24]

Ball is still moving..

Cloud cover in Eng means bowl is gonna keep on moving, a bit less as the ball gets older.

 

[ahmed16]

Abid is trying way too hard.Opening is very difficult in these conditions.

Never heard of a batsmen 'trying way too hard', logic would determine that most and in particular subcontinent batsmen would need to try as hard as possible in such conditions and against such a bowling attack

 

[ammar_merry]

Broad and Anderson down on speed today?

Or did they always bowl around 130-140kph?

Good carry in the pitch.

 

[sharmaji]

Excellent start by Pakistan.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Sudden rain

 

[imshally81]

Cloud cover in Eng means bowl is gonna keep on moving, a bit less as the ball gets older.

Spot on..

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Good comments by Holding - if you have 4 great fast bowlers, why would you leave one out to play a spinner? According to him, it's a game of cricket, not trapeze.

Same logic - if you have a Warne in your attack, why would you not play him even if it is a seaming pitch with overcast conditions predicted throughout the 5 days.

 

[Gullycricket]

I would hate if the momentum would break here due to rain

 

[imshally81]

Sudden rain

Oh no... Tempo will break..

 

[uberkoen]

Where did that rain come from!?

 

[Invincible Gujjar]

Never heard of a batsmen 'trying way too hard', logic would determine that most and in particular subcontinent batsmen would need to try as hard as possible in such conditions and against such a bowling attack

What I meant was he is looking nervous and thinking too much.He should take it easy.

 

[GreenKhan]

Solid start from the openers . Their will always be plays and misses and some tentativeness. It’s test cricket and they are fantastic bowlers .

Shan has definitely improved from last time . Fair play to him . Now needs to translate it into a good series .

 

[Firebat]

Such heavy rain just came and gone in a second.

 

[Titan24]

That would make sense if Pakistan had a good #3

But with an old Azhar Ali at that position, Pak. need a big opening partnership here. Hopefully 50+ at least.

I was mainly referring to Babar and onwards. I considered no 3 in tests somewhat part of the top order.

 

[Mueez]

Such heavy rain just came and gone in a second.

England’s weather at its best.

 

[uberkoen]

Archer on the way

 

[Invincible Gujjar]

Here comes jofra archer but it has to be seen if he is "motivated enough"

 

[topspin]

Not uncommon in international cricket to be honest. I think all players have some natural tendencies, its about how you manage your game around them.

Yeah Kohli plays with low hands as well.

 

[uberkoen]

lol. This is such an awkward conversation between the two commentators

 

[Firebat]

lol. This is such an awkward conversation between the two commentators

Someone please tell them to stick to cricket.

 

[angrypathan]

First hour negotiated, not pretty, but well played boys

 

[Pakhs]

this is a great first hour

 

[Mueez]

Nasty bouncer by Archer.

 

[ammar_merry]

England’s weather at its best.

one minute raining...

 

[Forum363]

Brilliant bouncer from Archer. He really is very good at bowling these.

 

[Ismailtoca]

I'll never understand why we have commentators who haven't played intl. cricket.

 

[shaz619]

Have the Pak openers hit any boundaries so far I can't remember it despite watching live might have fallen asleep a few times

I want to see 4's, 6's and wickets dammit :akmal

 

[the Great Khan]

boyz playing well for now

 

[Indiafan]

Very good start by the openers. The ball is moving, there is pace in the pitch, its cloudy. The batsmen have not been committing to shots which is why they have survived

 

[Titan24]

Archer with his bouncers. Guy has a lot of skills but I think needs to be more aware of how to use them to set the batsman and be relentless. One of the reasons Naseem and Shaheen really impress me is that they somewhat understand the art of bowling at such a young age.

 

[Mueez]

Wish we had ODIs as well during the tour.

 

[castortroy]

Just takes 1 wicket before the inevitable 50-3

 

[topspin]

lol. This is such an awkward conversation between the two commentators

Someone please tell them to stick to cricket.

Fill me in

 

[PakPremi]

First hour negotiated, not pretty, but well played boys

Was not ugly either no chances and some good runs on the board.

 

[MMHS]

So far so good, well played by the openers. But the surface looks a much better one than typical English track, Babar should enjoy batting here against old ball

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Someone please tell them to stick to cricket.

Dont think she realizes that Mikey is from the Carribean, beaches galore lol.

 

[ChTab]

Very good 1st hour by Pakistani openers & at a decent rate as well.

 

[shaz619]

Just takes 1 wicket before the inevitable 50-3

Be a bit positive this is a solid effort by Pak against some challenging bowling

 

[Mueez]

Dont think she realizes that Mikey is from the Carribean, beaches galore lol.

)

 

[Ismailtoca]

Have the Pak openers hit any boundaries so far I can't remember it despite watching live might have fallen asleep a few times

I want to see 4's, 6's and wickets dammit :akmal

Abid scored a boundary off his legs. the other 3 4s I saw were all edges/flukes

 

[Titan24]

The zip in this pitch will be loved by Naseem as well.

 

[Titan24]

Woakes accuracy is one of the best around.

 

[castortroy]

And it starts

 

[imshally81]

 

[Mueez]

Looks like Younis Khan threatened the openers with his knife to see out the opening overs

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Abid gone

 

[Invincible Gujjar]

LOL that was inevitable. He is just not good enough.

 

[NeVerMind]

Abid bowled by a ripper from Archer

 

[Shaka81]

First one down..... concentration and resistance broken?

 

[uberkoen]

Bowled.

 

[Matty]

Out

)

 

[shamaan]

First one down..... concentration and resistance broken?

Short ball effect

 

[imshally81]

Azhar in...

 

[ammar_merry]

Always looked liked an inswinger will go through his defence.

 

[Ismailtoca]

Good ball by archer to take out abid

 

[Mueez]

An absolute ripper by Archer.

 

[Titan24]

Good setup by Archer. I think Abid did a decent job seeing of the new ball under clouds.

 

[shaz619]

I have never seen this Abid bloke before, he looks very ancient. Jofra simply too good

 

[sindhiboy]

Abid was really struggling

 

[ARK Rafay]

Jaffa. Abid Ali committed early and is gone.

Wrong timing for the wicket for Pakistan.

 

[Invincible Gujjar]

here comes mr captain I think he comes and goes.

 

[Mueez]

Azhar is a sitting duck against Archer tbh.

Hope he does well but I have no expectations from him.

 

[castortroy]

50-3 coming

 

[Zeshan547]

That was too good for Abid, but not the worst effort from him, now upto Captain Failure.

 

[Rinnegan Sasuke]

No hope from Azhar

 

[castortroy]

I have never seen this Abid bloke before, he looks very ancient. Jofra simply too good

His technique isn't designed for English conditions. Plays very low with low hands

 

[imshally81]

Rain

 

[shaz619]

Excellent bowling change and bowling from Jofra, not afraid to ball short with the new cherry, excellent aggression. Welcome to the Test Cricket Paaaakistan!

 

[shaz619]

His technique isn't designed for English conditions. Plays very low with low hands

Yes seems most effective for wickets like the Oval but even there bowlers get lift, its a bouncy track. Abid is probably must more suited to dead tracks

 

[Titan24]

Pak practiced for rain quite a lot in the last warm up match.

 

[castortroy]

Very difficult to get to 300 against this attack

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Shouldn’t be a big delay

 

[JibranAnsari]

This pace attack is too good for pakistan. Lovely to watch.

 

[ChTab]

So far so good, well played by the openers. But the surface looks a much better one than typical English track, Babar should enjoy batting here against old ball

Hoping that Babar will score a big hundred.