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Andy Flower will no doubt be looking for a big response from his England team as they go into their second test against Pakistan on Sunday.
Pakistan won the first game by ten wickets at a canter, with England’s top six batsmen putting on a paltry 143 runs between them across both innings.
It was not what the travelling ‘Barmy Army’ had come to expect from the side that last year rose to the top of the ICC Test World Rankings.
However, there is every chance that this game will just go down in the history books as a minor blip, especially if England can get back on track and level the series.
One of the main issues they will no doubt have been addressing in training will have been how to cope with Pakistan’s off-spinner, Saeed Ajmal who simply bamboozled them in the first test.
Whatever happens with Ajmal could turn out to be the key to the series: should he be allowed to continue as he did in the first test, Pakistan will no doubt win the remaining games. Should England get a grip on him, then they can quite realistically hope to turn this one around.
One of the other issues, though, is how to deal with Pakistan opener, Mohammed Hafeez. Whilst his 88 in the first innings was not totally spectacular, the way he dealt with a bowler friendly wicket was what ultimately took the game away from England.
When you are defending a humble first innings score of 192, you cannot wait until the opposition have 114 runs on the board before taking your first wicket. An early breakthrough from the English bowlers will be vital.
Match Winner
You cannot blame fans for not having much faith in England after what happened in the first test, and for many Pakistan will be the favourites to come out of this game with the win.
However, it must be remembered that (if the rankings are to be believed) England are supposed to be the best test cricketing side on the planet, having gone to Australia and humiliated their Ashes opponents, before ripping India to shreds in the home series last summer.
Many bookmakers are offering the draw as the favourite result here – testament to England’s reputation, rather than any insult to Pakistan. You can get odds of 2.20 (6/5) with BWIN for this to end as a stalemate.
England stand every chance of turning things around, of course, and for that reason VC Bet have them 3.00 (2/1) to win this, while Pakistan are 3.50 (5/2) with Totesport.
Top Scoring Batsman
As has already been mentioned, Mohammed Hafeez was the top scorer in the first test, scoring 88 runs in the first innings.
SportingBet make him the joint 4.50 (7/2) favourite to be the top batsman again, alongside the likes of Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Younis Khan.
Misbah Ul-Haq is available at 5.00 (4/1), while Kevin Pietersen, who scored an embarrassing total of just two runs from his two innings is priced at 5.50 (9/2) along with Taufeeq Umar. England opener Andrew Stauss is available at 6.00 (5/1).
Top Wicket Taker
One of the biggest questions will be surrounding the performance of Ajmal. Will he continue where he left off in the first test and rip England to shreds again? Or will England have done their homework and null the threat he carries.
He is understandably the favourite to come out of this game as the top bowler, with SportingBet offering odds of 2.63 (13/8) on him doing just that.
The wickets in the UAE are always going to suit the spinners more than the seamers and quicks, so it is no surprise that Graeme Swann can be backed at 2.75 (7/4) to do the most damage.
Umar Gul is priced at 3.50 (5/2), while James Anderson is available at 3.60 (13/5) alongside Stuart Broad. Abdur Rehman and Monty Panesar both find themselves at 4.00 (3/1), while Aizaz Cheema, Chris Tremlett, and Steven Finn are all 5.00 (4/1).
Recommended Bets
Damaged badly by their dismal performance in the first test, few will be expecting fireworks from Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook.
But it must be remembered that these are two of the finest batsman in world cricket at the moment, and have the potential to bounce back in style.
The recommended bet for this game is that they will put on more than 50 runs between them. Highly feasible, with £10 bringing in a total return of £22 with Betfair.
