Pakistan vs England: Nasser Hussain on Dubai, Ian Bell and Moeen Ali
England should make one change for second Test - at slip
Tuesday 20 October 2015 17:14, UK
Nasser Hussain is hoping for a better pitch but an unchanged England XI when the second Test gets underway in Dubai.
You'd think that having seen how dull the surface in the first Test was and how much criticism it got, that the groundsman in Dubai would go: 'I've either got to leave some grass on this track or at least make sure it turns'.
I'd much prefer a raging Bunsen that offers the spinners something than one that offers nothing to anyone for four and a half days.
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Still, bowling in Abu Dhabi would have been a good education for England's young bowlers and I thought the whole attack acquitted themselves very well, even though 523-8 doesn't reflect that.
James Anderson, in particular, showed all his skills in conditions that did not suit him at all - if Ian Bell had taken his catches, Jimmy could have had four wickets in the first innings.
When pitches are flat you are always looking for that bit of extra pace, so Liam Plunkett, who has a few yards on England's other bowlers, could come into consideration for Dubai.
"I would only shake things up if someone is absolutely exhausted, while I would only contemplate bringing in Samit Patel as third spinner if the groundsman has overcompensated for Abu Dhabi and provided an absolute dustbowl."
It's not just about speed, though; Wahab Riaz's success in Abu Dhabi was down to his trajectory, reverse swing and lengths as well as his pace, and I would be reluctant to make a change to an England attack that did a good job last time out.
I would only shake things up if someone is absolutely exhausted, while I would only contemplate bringing in Samit Patel as a third spinner if the groundsman has overcompensated for Abu Dhabi and provided an absolute dustbowl.
You've got to remember that it was the seamers who did all the damage until late on day five.
The only change I would make is in the slip cordon; Bell strikes me as a confidence guy and if he is lacking in that a bit I'd get someone in there who feels sure they are going to catch the ball.
That said, I think Bell's half-century will given him a real boost and taken away some of the pressure that was building on him after his quiet Ashes series and dropped catches in Pakistan's first innings.
There was a period before lunch on day three where Pakistan were all over Bell and he couldn't get the ball off the square but he came through that, found a bit of fluency as his innings progressed and will now be feeling much better about himself.
Moeen Ali will feel good, too, after proving that while he is a bit of a dasher at No 8, if you put him up to open he'll assess the situation and play in a more circumspect fashion.
At times he got into his bunker a little bit, so needs to learn from Alastair Cook and Joe Root about how it's not just block or slog to but also about manoeuvring the ball and rotating the strike, but that will come.
Confidence should be high throughout the England camp, to be honest.
To go walking off the field on day two with their opponents having scored 523 to only bad light stopping them from securing one of the greatest victories of all time, should give them huge heart.
The main threat now is the leg-spinner Yasir Shah - I think the whole series could come down to how England play him and in a way it was perhaps a blessing for Pakistan that he missed the first Test and England weren't able to get used to him.
Pakistan will also be strengthened by the return of Azhar Ali, but we've seen that they always have one collapse in them that could cost them a game or a series, so that will be in England's mind, too.
Live coverage of the second Test between Pakistan and England starts at 6.30am, Thursday, Sky Sports 2. You can also watch without a contract on NOW TV.
