Asif has been ruled out, Malik( may not eb a bad thing)and Younis are going to join him as well:mad: .The series is getting more and more boring with all these injuries.
So the most likely final XI:
Butt
Farhat
Iqbal
Inzamam
Yousaf
Afridi
Razzaq
Akmal
Sami
Gul
Kaneria
Butt
Farhat
Iqbal
Inzamam
Yousaf
Afridi
Razzaq
Akmal
Sami
Gul
Kaneria
Inzamam, and not Faisal, should be the one coming in at number #3, followed by either the latter or regular Yousuf.
Finally, with all these added list of injuries, it seems a likelihood to include both Afridi and Faisal in the same line-up, contrary to before where they were fighting for one spot. Good deal!
Someone who is so close to practically a celebrity should require no need to even know the basics of pros and cons. Leave that part to us bachay log. :D
It will be interesting to see if the ultraconservative Inzi has the guts to play the young players like Gul, Butt and Faisal instead of opting for the half-fit but experienced Younis, Asif, Malik. The last thing we need is to end up playing with only 10 men, or less!
Asif ka toh mushkil lag raha hai khelna because of the injury he sustained. Umar Gul ki jagaa Shahid Nazir ko daalna chahiye. Gul would be good in ODI's but not so affective in the Tests, i think.
That's just awful. I didn't need to hear that. One Down is the most difficult position to bat at and Younis Khan is our (Pakistan's) only capable one-down batsman. Maybe Malik's good enough for that spot too but to put a cherry on top of the cake, he's out too. That's just bad luck. Winning the toss is our number 1 priority now and just playing good tough cricket could maybe sneak us home.
10.05am
It’s looking like Hoggard will be playing. But, more excitingly, is the news that there was a bit of a stand-off between the two camps. Pakistan wanted to bowl on the same strip England’s bowlers were practising on…and they were told to clear off, in no uncertain terms. No evidence of any fist-fights or Zidane moments yet.
1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss (capt), 3 Alastair Cook, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Ian Bell, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Liam Plunkett, 9 Matthew Hoggard, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 Monty Panesar