England vs Pakistan, 2nd Test: England's batsmen need to go back to basics

Ten letters have been the pillars of my batting since I was knee high: PYBU MYF HTB. They stand for: Pick Your Bat Up, Move Your Feet, and Hit the Ball. If I had a pound for every time they have been shouted at me by Nico Senior I would have no debt at the end of my University course. I have spent the last three days shouting these 10 letters while watching the second Pakistan-England Test in the UAE because seemingly England’s top six have forgotten the basics of batting, especially batting against spin.

PYBU

 Your bat pick-up as a batsman governs how positive you can be. Kevin Pietersen cannot be positive against any of Pakistan’s spinners because his pick-up does not get further than his waist. He is seemingly beaten before he starts.

Pietersen also seemingly has a mental problem against spinners. The number of times that his weakness against left-arm spinners has been written it is unsurprising. He does need to try and return to the cocky Pietersen circa 2005 soon otherwise his career as a whole may be on an unstoppable spiral downwards.

MYF

Against seam-bowling, many players get away with poor foot movement - take Strauss and, more extremely, Marcus Trescothick. Against spin, however, foot movement is critical. At no point in the second innings did any of the England batsmen go down the track and attempt to disrupt the length of the likes of Rehman and Hafeez. Even the less experienced Pakistani batsman such as Shafiq and Azhar Ali used their feet to Swann and Panesar despite prodigious turn.

Ajmal is more difficult. Seemingly “unpickable”, using one’s feet to come down the track must be done cautiously and judged on length more than anything else.

The somewhat clichéd phrase “quick feet” should be at the forefront of all the England batsman’s minds. The whole top six, barring Trott, have been guilty of planting their feet, meaning that they cannot adapt their shot if they misread the line or direction of spin of the three Pakistani spinners.

Moreover there was an issue with foot movement in general. Take the dismissals of Morgan and Broad in the second innings: two different shots but the same problem. Their foot movement was not good enough to play the shot attempted. Morgan attempted to play a cut too close to him. He should have given himself room instead of just rocking onto the back foot. Broad on the other hand was out attempting to drive against the spin of Rehman. His foot was not near enough to the ball, so was promptly gated by a good ball. The likes of Misbah would have either got their foot to the pitch of the ball or defended it. Broad’s shot is the type of shot that may prevent him from moving up England’s order long term.

Many of England’s players were also camped on the back foot. For once Prior has to be included in this as Ajmal has got him out twice LBW playing back. The batsman is given the whole crease for a reason: to use it. As a batsman if you are not going to come down the wicket to a spinner, at least use the whole crease. Strauss in particular seemed very reluctant to make any movement forward at all. Going forward shows the bowler some positive intent, even if the batsman is lunging at the ball. It also gives the batsman some chance of hitting the inevitable half volley that a spinner will bowl.

HTB

“Hit the Ball” is not as simple a phrase as it seems. For me it stands for positivity in whatever shot that a batsman plays and also a positive game-plan. In its simplest form, hitting the ball would be a start for both sides. The second test was a record for the most dismissals not involving the wicket-keeper or fielders.  Of the 40 wickets to fall, 26 were the result of the batsmen missing the ball.

I was always taught, no matter what the situation, that a batsman should always look to score, not just to survive. England’s top six simply looked to survive. Against any spinner, a good ball could be round the corner so being positive is a necessity, especially at the start of a spell to try and disrupt.

Scoring runs eases pressure and causes fields to spread. On a turning wicket, it is inevitable that a batsman will face an unplayable ball from a spinner. The differentiation between good and bad players of spin is how you deal with the balls in between. England’s wholly negative outlook, partly caused by the mind-games played by Ajmal and the historically poor records of England sides in the sub-continent, condemned England to defeat before they started.

Although the series is lost, all is not lost. If England’s batting unit is more positive, the last test is winnable.

England vs Pakistan Series Preview: Can England dominate on a different continent?

This series is undoubtedly England’s toughest series in the last two years: an England side minus Bresnan and one injury away from Bopara playing against an in-form Pakistan side finally united under their captain, Misbah ul-Haq.

The UAE is unknown territory for England. Pakistan only have the experience of the series against Sri Lanka in recent times of playing in the Middle East, but their side seems to lend itself more to the style of cricket to win in these conditions.

Misbah was recently quoted as saying that “It is hard to take wickets [here] but it is also hard to score runs”. Pakistan have enough of a varied attack and, unlike England, have more options. Mohammed Hafeez has greatly improved as a batsman and is a more than handy third spinner. In Ajmal, Pakistan have the most in-form spinner. Unlike Swann, he has a doosra and supposedly a “new” delivery which he has saved for England. Swann also recently struggled in India, albeit in ODI not tests, but he had an average summer, disguised by the incredible summer the seamers had. Furthermore, in Rehman, they have a spinner who is able, like Herath in the SA-Sri Lanka series, to keep the run-rate down, allowing the other bowlers to attack.

The Pakistani seamers also have the advantage as they are all quick and reliable reverse-swingers of the ball. Moreover, they have the advantage of being able to play a left-armer, in either Junaid Khan and Wahab Riaz.

The banning of Asif and Amir, which initially weakened their side, has given Pakistan an advantage that the majority of their attack has not been seen at close quarters by the English top order. Although Ajmal and Junaid Khan did play county cricket, the England top order were not available at the time. Gul did make the last tour, as did Riaz. Cheema is the most unknown quantity. He has an awkward action, causing the ball to angle across the left-handers, which may cause problems for Cook and especially Strauss.

Thankfully, there is a glimmer of hope. England are the number one side in the world and have, apologies for the cliché, a “culture of winning”. Moreover, they have the more positive captain in Strauss, something that hasn’t been said of him before. England’s batting line-up has been in good form, apart from Morgan. However, the conditions will suit Morgan, England’s best player of spin. Morgan also has a reasonable record against them, which includes both a ODI and test hundred in the blighted series of 2010. They also bat deeper into the order than Pakistan, with Swann coming in at 8 if six batsmen are played, which is surely the case.

England’s bowling attack also showed that it could adapt to different conditions in their performance in Australia. Although Bresnan has left, Finn was very impressive in India. He bowled accurately and regularly bowled at over 90mph. He may also cause a problem for the Pakistani batsmen due to his height. Anderson and Broad will also get some reverse-swing, but England will be more reliant on the new ball than Pakistan.

Although England are the number-one test side in the world, Pakistan do hold the edge for this series. A four-man bowling attack will truly be put to the test in un-bowler friendly conditions. Spin will play a major part; Swann vs Ajmal, Rehman and Hafeez may even decide the series if the pitches are dusty. England do have a stronger batting line-up, but their lack of bowling variety may hinder them. Misbah’s lack of positivity may well prevent Pakistan however. If England don’t lose the series, they firmly deserve their number one ranking.

My Prediction: 1-1.