Date-stamped : 30 Jul96 - 02:16 Test # 1330 England v Pakistan, 1st Test Lord's, London 25,26,27,28,29 July 1996 ====> PREVIEW (Electronic Telegraph, UK) High Court case diverts English minds from Pakistan challenge By Christopher Martin-Jenkins THE spectacle in the High Court of three of yesterday`s heroes risking sums of money far greater than most cricketers dream about, on matters of pride over which few others care tup- pence, would have been unedifying enough for most cricket lovers without the disruption it has caused to preparations for the Test match starting today between England and Pakistan at Lord`s. Michael Atherton, the England captain, and David Lloyd, the coach, found themselves yesterday unwillingly involved in someone else`s dispute when they wanted to be concentrating fully on a Test which could easily decide the three-match series. England`s practice was delayed until 12.30 so that Atherton could have a net. Lloyd arrived back from court later. The captain`s lead at the start of the innings will be especially important this time against a high-class Pakistan bowling attack. He has Nick Knight as his opening partner again, with Alec Stewart dropping to his natural position of No 3. Nasser Hus- sain and Chris Lewis both failed fitness tests yesterday and are replaced, respectively, by Knight and Simon Brown. Brown rather than Alan Mullally will take the new ball -Brown presumably sharing that with Dominic Cork, a partnership which promises much. The two left-arm bowlers may well join forces at some time, a rarity indeed. If there is a precedent in an England team I have missed it; the most recent in Tests, perhaps, was when Gary Sobers and Bernard Julien played for the West Indies. The programme which has produced two Tests at Lord`s in five weeks is not ideal, but advance ticket sales have been ex- cellent, not surprisingly when the last match between the two countries here in 1992 was a classic, ending in the tensest of two-wicket victories for Pakistan after they had sunk to 18 for three in pursuit of a mere 138 runs to win. One of England`s outstanding bowlers on that memorable Sunday afternoon was Ian Salisbury, who has been recalled at a time when he is bowling with increasing control and confidence and batting as well as he ever has. Doubts remain about his tendency to over-excitement, and his eagerness to bowl too many varia- tions rather than sticking to the leg- break as his staple ball, using the top-spinner and googly, both of which he bowls very well, as surprise weapons. But his inclusion gives Eng- land greater penetration than they have had with a succession of left-arm finger-spinners. Pitch No 7 on the small Lord`s square is more often used for the one-day finals and it is likely to become trickier to bat upon, against all bowlers, as the match goes on. It may, there- fore, be an important toss to win this morn- ing. England won their series against India by their well directed aggression in the field at Edgbaston and the same spirit will be needed this time, not the timorous negativity of their batting performance on the fourth day of the Trent Bridge Test. Graeme Hick was the main culprit. Hick might have been dropped but for his important hundred for Worcestershire last week. If he does not bat with the authori- ty of which he is capable against Pakistan, he will have to miss the relatively soft winter tours of Zimbabwe and New Zealand so that batsmen of sturdier mentality, albeit of lesser ability, can be prepared for Australia next season. Pakistan are thinking of playing six batsmen and giving a first cap to the talented left-hander, Shadab Kabir, which would leave their bowling dangerously short if Waqar Younis should suffer further from a sore hamstring. Mohammad Akram, who impressed everyone on his first appearance against Aus- tralia at Brisbane last winter was his possible replace- ment. If Kabir plays he would keep out the equally promising off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, which would be almost certainly to England`s advantage because the pitch is dry, with some cracks. Pitch No 7 on the small Lord`s square is more often used for the one-day finals and it is likely to become trickier to bat upon, against all bowlers, as the match goes on. It may, there- fore, be an important toss to win this morning. If Pakistan get first use of it, they could potentially seize the initiative and not let it slip, given the confident bat- ting on the tour so far of Saeed Anwar - fit again after his stomach trouble and averaging 98 -Aaamir Sohail, Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamam-ul-Haq, a much more complete Test batsman now than he was here four years ago. Salim Malik, by contrast, is not the player he was and there is a possible danger to Pakistan in the rather gung-ho approach of some of their batsmen. If it comes off it will be splendid to watch. If they get a little too reckless, England`s varied bowling attack is capable of taking the opportunity. History shows that the side which goes one up in these short series usually wins. In 38 three-match series in England, indeed, only once, in 1888, has a team won after losing the first game. Having just won their first series for two years, English hopes are high, but their recent Test record at Lord`s is poor: nine defeats, 10 draws and only six wins in 25 Tests. England:*M A Atherton, N V Knight, A J Stewart, G P Thorpe, G A Hick, M A Ealham, -R C Russell, I D K Salisbury, D G Cork, S J E Brown, A D Mullally. Pakistan (from):Aamir Sohail, Saeed Anwar, Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Salim Malik, Asif Mujtaba, -Rashid Latif, *Wasim Akram, Mushtaq Ahmed, Waqar Younis, Shahid Nazir, Ata-ur Reh- man, Mohammad Akram. Umpires:P Willey & S Bucknor. Third umpire:J W Holder. Referee:P van der Merwe (S Africa). Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) ====> REPORT (Day 1, 25 Jul 1996) (Electronic Telegraph, UK) First Test: England make use of their variety to tilt the balance Christopher Martin-Jenkins at Lord`s THE first day of the England-Pakistan series fulfilled all the high expectations and none of the low ones. Pakistan won a valuable toss on a slow, true, dry pitch but England`s ex- ceptionally inexperienced bowling attack prevented them from mak- ing the most of it, despite a magisterial fifth Test hundred by Inzamam-ul-Haq and a vigorous, attractive 74 by Saeed Anwar. Their third-wicket partnership of 130, the only one of real sub- stance, was compiled between the seventh and 41st overs in ideal conditions for batting; but it was England who finished a delightfully unpredictable day`s Test cricket in the stronger position, not least because Pakistan preferred an extra special- ist batsman to a fifth bowler. For England, by contrast, the value of variety has seldom been better demonstrated. It would not be true to say that the honours were evenly earned by the six bowlers at Mike Atherton`s command, although five of them shared the spoils and the sixth was responsible for a run out. The point - full marks to the selectors for grasping it this time - is that two right-arm and two left-arm fast bowlers, a wrist spinner and an off-spinner gives the captain options at every stage. What is more, Atherton made the most of them. His field place- ments showed the benefit of careful homework by himself and Da- vid Lloyd and his deployment of the various weapons in his ar- moury was shrewd, especially when the first ball was changed two overs after tea and began to swing. A second new ball is available to Atherton now, if it is needed when Alan Mullally has completed the seventh over of an admirable evening spell which has so far earned him three for 14, reducing Pakistan to 290 for nine. THERE were only two dangers to Inzamam, once he had appreciated that the pace of the pitch was as slow as one of those in his native Multan. The first was that he might fall asleep, for not even David Gower looked more insouciant at the crease than this 26-year-old right-hander, who averaged 13 against England until yesterday but well over 50 against everyone else. The second was that he might run himself out. England finally persuaded the umpires to change a ball which had gone out of shape and which had not swung much all day. He came close, indeed, to doing so when he and Salim Malik found themselves at the same end after Inzamam had scored 64 and Malik only seven. If they had crossed, as they almost did, Malik would have been at fault (for it is convention for the well-set batsman to stay when a run out becomes inevitable) but Inzamam would have been the man to go. It was just as well for Pakistan that he did because Inzamam`s was more or less a one-man battle in the second half of an excellent day`s cricket. It turned at 197 for four in the 61st over when England finally persuaded the umpires to change a ball which had gone out of shape and which had not swung much all day. Its replacement did, with the result that Dominic Cork began to look more like his irrepressible self and Mullally gained some reward for his earlier accuracy and persistence. Mark Ealham, too, produced a timely spell, swinging the ball at paces varying, according to the the electronic timing device, from 60 to 70 mph. Simon Brown and Cork bowled faster than that with the new ball, but not so tidily after a wonderful start in which Brown had Aamir Sohail lbw as he padded up to the pride of Durham`s 10th ball in Test cricket and Cork uprooted Ijaz Ahmed`s middle stump in a most unusual way. Walking across so far that he was wide of the off stump, Ijaz`s belated attempt to get bat to ball was impeded by his front pad. It was a marvellous sight for Cork, but his excitement was shortlived. Inzamam, all languid ease, seeing the ball absurdly early and hitting it off the back foot with a lordly command which perhaps no one since Ted Dexter has equalled, had an ideal partner in Anwar, who strikes the ball off the front foot with Zlan and a wristy flourish. Brown and Cork should certain- ly not be discouraged that their attempt to pitch the ball up to make it swing resulted in rather too many fours for England`s comfort. Three times in two overs Anwar tapped Brown through midwicket - he strayed too often outside the leg stumps of both right and left- handers. The impetus was slowed by some steady overs from Brown and Ealham before Atherton, sensibly giving Hick a chance to the left-hander MULLALLY, a veteran in his fourth Test, bowled a much tighter line and Ian Salisbury, in a four-over spell before lunch, found an edge or two which might have led to wickets on a quicker pitch. Still, Pakistan were 112 for two by the interval and Inzamam reached his fifty immediately after with another unstop- pable cover drive. The impetus was slowed by some steady overs from Brown and Ealham before Atherton, sensibly giving Hick a chance to the left-hander, saw Anwar cutting at a short ball in his first over and edging it to Jack Russell. The Malik run out followed quickly, the result of a sprint, sliding stop and off-balance throw to the wicketkeeper by Salisbury. This time the recovery from the double blow was not so prolonged. Shadab Kabir, 18, the slight left-hander from Karachi, batted calmly and soundly in his first Test innings but Inzamam kept losing the strike early in the over and by tea had advanced only to 86. He reached his hundred rapidly and memorably after- wards, dancing down the pitch to lift Hick over long on, but the ball was changed and with it the balance of the day. Kabir was given out leg before to an inswinger soon after the change of ball, a piece of luck for Cork which was cancelled out when Wasim Akram looked more obviously leg before, but another inswinger from Ealham brooked no argument and 10 runs later, at 267, Mullally brought a ball back down the slope to find Inzamam`s inside edge to end a handsome innings. It sig- nalled an encouraging end to the day for the home side. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) ====> REPORT (Day 2, 26 Jul 1996) (Electronic Telegraph, UK) First Test: Thorpe provides case for defence Christopher Martin-Jenkins on a day of high drama and High Court A LAST-WICKET stand, the weather, two lucky breaks and the wily skill of Mushtaq Ahmed`s wrist spin combined to give Pakistan the initiative on an engrossing second day of the first Test at Lord`s yesterday. The advantage England had held when play started in bright sunshine was wrested away by good bowling in the middle of the day but there were useful partnerships between Nick Knight and Alec Stewart for the second wicket and by Graham Thorpe and Mark Ealham for the fifth. Much pleasure still awaits. England were generally uncertain against Mushtaq and they were menaced also by Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram on what became an unpleasantly clammy evening in the capital. It was an ideal atmo- sphere for swing bowling and Waqar, as always, moved the old ball more than he had the new one. By the time he returned for a second spell in the 34th over, the now familiar formula was work- ing. A ball kept shiny on one side while the other side be- came naturally rougher helped Waqar to bowl a succession of dipping yorkers. It took all Thorpe`s skill to keep them out. Driving forcefully through extra cover whenever the opportunity arose, Surrey`s left-handed No 4, the batsman of the season so far, had steered England to 200 for five by the close. But it is as yet a weak reply to Pakistan`s 340, a total enhanced by a last-wicket stand of 50 at the start of the day. England`s innings started well enough, despite the early loss of their captain, but the early confidence evaporated when Knight and Stewart fell in successive overs at 107. Knight alone had played Mushtaq with real confidence, his left-handedness an advantage, and the little man`s figures tell nothing of the problems he caused on this funereal surface, or the near misses he engendered. Apart from the tendency of umpires everywhere to give the benefit of doubt to the seam bowlers but never to the spinners, he missed Ealham off his own bowling and had Thorpe dropped at short leg in the last over of the day. It took England an hour and a quarter to take Pakistan`s last wicket, a possibility which they must have feared, given the dead-slow pace of the pitch and the competence of Rashid Latif`s batting, but the 50 runs he added with Ata-ur-Rehman were every bit as important psychologically as they were materi- ally to the Pakistan cause. "This court must also abide by certain rules," he was sternly reminded by Mr Justice French. One of them, I soon learned, is that lawyers, like cricketers, insist on a lunch interval at 1 pm. England had to take a new ball but it availed them nothing and it was eventually Ian Salisbury, with a leg-break which took the edge and carried to slip, who ended Latif`s spirited innings. The wicketkeeper had played with his customary flair and his No 11 partner with considerable confidence. Mike Atherton fell before lunch, in the fifth over of England`s reply, the victim of Wasim Akram and of what seems on the evi- dence of several replays to have been a dubious decision by Peter Willey, who is standing in his first home Test. Your correspondent did not see it happen with the naked eye, since he was under cross-examination in the High Court at the time, providing dull fare, I fear, after the dramatic at- tempt by Geoffrey Boycott to introduce a sub-plot of his own to the Botham-Lamb versus Imran Khan dispute. He had brought for his purpose a well-studded boot, solemnly taken from Lord`s to the Strand. "This court must also abide by certain rules," he was sternly reminded by Mr Justice French. One of them, I soon learned, is that lawyers, like cricketers, insist on a lunch interval at 1 pm. The real drama of the Test, happily, occurred in the after- noon. Knight, driving a wide off-side ball from Waqar and cutting Mushtaq away with equal confidence, started it in a positive frame of mind, but once he and Stewart, relishing the conflict and batting soundly, had become set, Wasim sensibly spread the field and waited for something to happen. It soon did. In the 33rd over, Knight was dropped off Mushtaq, a difficult chance to Aamir Sohail`s right (wrong) hand at slip. The two runs which resulted gave Knight a well-deserved second Test fifty but 15 minutes later he was gone, rather cruelly judged lbw. There was no doubt about Stewart`s dismissal an over later, padding up to a gentle googly, so Graeme Hick found himself coming in to a developing crisis just before tea. Thorpe and Ealham are both cricketers of character who suffer from none of Hick`s apparant lack of mental fibre. His body language was submissive and somehow it was no surprise when, three overs into the evening session, he was yorked by Waqar. Perhaps he was expecting more inswing than there actual- ly was, because his bat jabbed down late but his feet never moved. The saga continues and unless Hick can go in with a determination to dominate in the second innings, his days real- ly are numbered. At 116 for four, the home side were in danger of complete disintegration but Thorpe and Ealham are both cricketers of character who suffer from none of Hick`s apparant lack of men- tal fibre. They filled the breach nobly for an hour and 20 minutes. Ealham was uncertain in defence against the wrist spin but quick to spot a chance to drive. He seemed well enough established to extend the stuggle into the third day when Ata- ur-Rehman, bowling with gusto from the pavilion end, surprised him with a ball which bounced a bit more and left him up the slope. Even more now depends, therefore, on Thorpe. He has batted so far for 142 minutes but he will need to be there for at least as long today if England are to insure themselves against the po- tential hazards of batting fourth on a dry pitch which has al- ready enabled Mushtaq to turn the ball a foot or more at times. It is, however, still a very true and comfortable pitch to bat on, sufficiently so for Ladbrokes to make a draw the favourite last night. To judge from the way the groundstaff were spreading tarpaulins even more copious than those at Edgbaston across all but the fringes of the outfield, the weather may play some part, but England, with two competent batsmen to come, should make 350 if they play purposefully. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) ====> REPORT (Day 4, 28 Jul 1996) (Electronic Telegraph, UK) Atherton and Stewart steel themselves to save the day MIKE ATHERTON was a historian not a classicist in his academic days but in a foreword to a recent book he quotes Aeneas adjuring the Trojans to "endure and preserve yourself for better things". That is all that England could do, by no means for the first time in the Atherton era, once Wasim Akram had declared Pakistan`s second innings just before tea yesterday, the fourth day of the first Test here. What followed was a thrilling, highly-charged session in which Atherton`s tremendous relish for a fight enabled him to lead England`s struggle for survival into the fifth day. With Alec Stewart, another who likes nothing better than an innings for his country, he took England to 74 for one in theoretical pursuit of a target of 408 to win. Well as Atherton and Stewart batted, both in more fluent form than during their longer stand at Trent Bridge, Waqar Younis`s devastating inswingers and Mushtaq Ahmed`s leg-breaks and googlies, turning substantially, came close to breaking through on several occasions. Atherton was dropped down the leg- side by Rashid Latif off Ata-ur-Rehman when he had scored 19. That would have been 39 for two because Nick Knight had al- ready succumbed to Waqar, leg before on the back foot. The forecasters predict a cloudy day with possible showers to- day. England will need all the help the weather can give them if they are to survive. They were given four sessions of play to win or save the game, but, like the Trojans, they could hope for no better than a draw and a chance to do better at Headingley. Against New Zealand here two years ago and India earlier this season, England saved Lord`s Tests in circumstances not dissimilar to these, but their chances against a sharper attack than those two countries possessed will no doubt depend on whether Atherton gets set again this morning. He had plenty to say during the early stages of his innings yes- terday, first when the new ball was exchanged for another in only the third over after going out of shape - the fifth time in the match that this has been necessary - then when Moin Khan, substitute for Aamir Sohail, was warned publicly by umpire Steve Bucknor for yapping away at Atherton from his position at silly mid-off. Finally, Atherton complained, not without some logic, when the umpires also allowed a substitute for Inzamam-ul-Haq, who had earlier batted for three hours with a bruised knee and moved well enough to strike nine thunderous boundaries. The slowness of the pitch has done neither any favours but Pakistan have controlled this match from the moment that Graham Thorpe played a ball from Ata-ur-Rehman on to his stumps just before lunch on Saturday. The atmosphere was intense but not nasty, which is as it should be in a Test. Atherton and Wasim were in friendly conversa- tion as they left the field discussing where they would dine together last night, and the Pakistan team applauded Atherton and Stewart for a job well done. It is far from completed, how- ever: Pakistan swept through England`s tail on Saturday, tak- ing four wickets for nine runs in one 16-ball period, a warning of what might happen even if England were to get to lunch today without further mishap. A minimum of 124 overs remained when the fourth innings started, the additional four resulting from England`s delaying tac- tics towards the end of Pakistan`s innings. Up to lunch at least they had kept up a respectable rate, but by failing to separate Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamam-ul-Haq, both of whom batted com- fortably and attractively on the still dead-slow pitch, they were obliged to go on to the defensive. Dominic Cork took the two wickets to fall yesterday with the new ball, but Alan Mullally was the most economical of the England bowlers, keeping a tight line from both over and round the wicket and bowling a proper length consistently. He has set- tled down quickly at the highest level, and he will get many more helpful pitches than this as time goes on. Simon Brown bowled much better against the right-handers than the left but he swung the ball only minimally. Ian Salisbury bowled calmly, with good control and not much luck. His figures are neither better nor worse, at this stage, than Mushtaq`s. The slowness of the pitch has done neither any favours but Pakistan have controlled this match from the moment that Graham Thorpe played a ball from Ata-ur-Rehman on to his stumps just before lunch on Saturday. Thorpe and Jack Russell combined ef- fectively, their left-handedness helping them to keep out Mushtaq`s subtle probings and their ability to play the ball very late helping them against the swing first of Wasim then of Waqar. It was only when the junior professional, so to speak, came on that Pakistan found a way through a partnership which was threatening to bring the game back on an even keel. England were 260 for five, only 80 behind, when the fresh and eager Rehman surprised Thorpe with a bit of extra bounce, much as he had Mark Ealham the previous day. Thorpe`s bat had not quite reached a straight position as he defended off the back foot and the resulting play-on increased the number of Test fifties he has been unable to translate into hundreds to 17. England, however, would have been in a pretty pickle without him. Russell remained, doughty and shrewd, to squeeze what he could from the brief remainder of the innings as Waqar joined Rehman in its swift destruction. No ball was more re- markable than the dipping, inswinging full-toss by Waqar to Mul- lally, a devastating Exocet for anyone to get second ball, let alone a tailender. It was exactly like a baseball pitch, delivered with a straight arm, of course, but with a certain twist of the wrist which produces a swerve unique to Waqar. If it is in working order this morning, England will need luck as well as skill. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) ====> REPORT (Day 5, 29 Jul 1996) (Electronic Telegraph, UK) First Test: Pakistanis cut down fragile English defence Christopher Martin-Jenkins at Lord`s SUPREME bowling by Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmed won the first Test for Pakistan by 164 runs. Having been 152 for one at lunch, England lost their potential saviours, Michael Atherton and Alec Stewart, in the course of two overs within the first half hour of the afternoon and collapsed amidst a frenzy of york- ers, leg-breaks and appeals. Despite a flourish by Ian Salisbury at the end, they succumbed just before a delayed tea inter- val, their last nine wickets having fallen for 75 runs. Pakistan deserved to win and historical precedent suggests that they will now win the series too, with but two matches left, at Headingley and the Oval. It was all the more depressing, therefore, for England that once again they could not sustain their resistance once the cru- cial wicket of Atherton had fallen. It was like a medieval siege: the defensive wall so carefully built by the captain and his faithful first lieutenant was suddenly breached and the only ones left inside the fortress were the women and chil- dren. That analogy does less than justice, perhaps, to Salisbury and to Graham Thorpe, who batted with his usual resolve for 62 minutes, only to be given out going back to a ball which looked as though it might easily have gone over the stumps. Steve Bucknor was the umpire obliged to make this tricky deci- sion. There was even more doubt that Alan Mullally had hit the ball off which he was given out caught at silly point, but he had already been reprieved after apparently being caught off his glove. Graeme Hick, too, had found time to be given not out off his glove before he was bowled. It was that sort of pitch; that sort of situation. A leg spinner bowling into the rough from round the wicket with close catchers all round the bat and Mushtaq himself leading fren- zied appeals for a catch almost every time a fielder caught the ball, whether it was off the pad or not, was a hellish scenario for an umpire, especially when every incident was replayed in slow motion, instantly and very clearly, on the giant screen at the ground itself, not to mention on smaller ones in televison rooms round the country. The replays on the ground are a great boon to the spectator, but they put a strain on umpires which is unfair and could lead easily to crowd disturbances on grounds where crowds are less civilised and even-tempered than they invariably are at Lord`s. The western terrace at Headingley may be a case in point and it would be wiser, surely, not to replay anything controver- sial at least, perhaps, until the interval. The TCCB should act on this before there is trouble, not after. Atherton, having batted impeccably and with very little diffi- culty in the morning, had been there for 278 minutes in all when he tried to turn the leg-break which finally defeated him to midwicket. Mushtaq too often appeals for what he must know is not out, but he is a wonderful little bowler and he was at his best yester- day, bowling nothing loose and disguising his googly too skilful- ly for most of the England batsmen most of the time. Having bowled 49 overs without a strike after his first-innings wicket, he claimed five for 11 yesterday in 57 balls. His decision to go round the wicket after lunch proved to be the key to the England door. Atherton, having batted impeccably and with very little diffi- culty in the morning, had been there for 278 minutes in all when he tried to turn the leg-break which finally defeated him to midwicket. Instead he edged it to slip. Stewart, his Test future now firmly assured again after two good innings here which confirmed that the co-ordination between eyes, hands and feet are back in order, padded up to a big leg-break out of the rough in Mushtaq`s next over and the ball ran up his thigh pad, glancing a glove en route to silly point. Enter the hapless Hick, who was given a full toss by Mushtaq to get him off the mark but who knew that the challenge from Waqar must come, as surely as a man with an abscess below a molar must face the dentist`s drill. The first short ball surprised him; the second, of full length, swung in and bowled him middle-and-leg. So farewell, then, Graeme. Even if Nasser Hussain was still unfit for Headingley a week on Thursday, John Crawley would surely be given preference. Salisbury made batting look a free and easy business after that in a 72-minute innings, but with tea beckoning and the rain still some way off, he pulled inappropriately and edged to the wicketkeeper. Mark Ealham was bowled round his legs, Jack Russell given two bouncers by Waqar, followed by two balls pitched up, the second of which he edged. Cork was beaten for pace by Waqar be- fore Thorpe was eighth out, back to a leg-break. Salisbury made batting look a free and easy business after that in a 72-minute innings, but with tea beckoning and the rain still some way off, he pulled inappropriately and edged to the wicketkeeper. Waqar was given the man-of-the-match award, narrowly ahead of Mushtaq, whose tireless wheeling earned him five for 26 in 16 overs after lunch. He, Waqar and Wasim said all the right things afterwards, with humour and dignity, and Pakistan`s only mis- take was to leave a bath tap running, the resulting flood caus- ing the collapse of plaster in an arch in the pavilion. That need not be symbolic. The ediface of English cricket has not collapsed because of one defeat but Atherton and the coach, David Lloyd, after this first setback will pray for a pitch to help seam bowlers at Headingley. When the ball swings and spins, they will come off second best more times than not against the superior skills of their opponents. They will try again to get the Dukes ball they favour, but Pakistan will presumably wish to stick to the Reader ball, despite the need for six of them to be changed, the last of them yesterday, because they had gone out of shape. England are thinking of playing six batsmen and only four specialist bowlers at Headingley, where Chris Lewis will return. Darren Gough and Andy Caddick will also be considered. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by Shash (shs2@*.cwru.edu)