Congratulations England

[Ernest]

With all that has happened over the PCB/Hair affair I think we have forgot about some good cricket that has been played by both England and Pakistan.

England have won the series 2-0 never mind the default, so congratulations to England on their win, and also congratulations to both teams playing some very entertaining cricket.

[Speedboy Salesman]

that's true.. Fantastic performances with the bat from Yousuf, Inzamam, Bell, Cook and Pietersen (to name a few) have provided exciting cricket and good bowling from people such as Gul, Asif and Panesar have provided a fine series, barring the last Test with the "ball tampering" issue.

[flanflinger]

Originally Posted by Ernest

England have won the series 2-0 never mind the default, so congratulations to England on their win, and also congratulations to both teams playing some very entertaining cricket.

I'm with you Ern, it may go down in all the record books as Englands win, but for me nobody came out with much credibility. Sadly despite some excellent play by both teams, this series will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

[greg]

England played well and deserved it.Such a shame the good cricket from both sides won't be the memorable thing about the series.

[Vrock]

I thought we batted well against a poor attack in the first three matches. Although, I know we'd won the series already but this last 'match' we looked hopeless against the ball swinging/seaming with good accuracy.

Hoggard looked distinctly average for most of the series, Harmison had four/seven creditible bowling performances so that's not too bad, Mahmood had the odd spell of great bowling but looked ordinary for the most part (still improving all the time though) and Panesar bowled very well throughout the series, no complaints given his situation.

A mixture of credit from me: Pakistan's middle order batted well throughout, Ian Bell the same for England and Panesar with the ball. Those were the only consistent performances.

[Mongoose]

The pluses for England:

Strauss back to top form, even with the captaincy on his shoulders too
Ian Bell looking like he not only belongs, but can dominate attacks through a variety of strokeplay
The middle order all making big runs at some point
Chris Read returning to test cricket and looking like he belongs
Monty Panesar consistently asking questions of some of the world's finest batsmen and finest players of spin
Saj Mahmood finally putting in the kind of performance he is capable of, albeit briefly

The minuses:

Trescothick gradually forgetting how to bat
More injuries, to Flintoff and Plunkett, further depleting the pace bowling stocks ahead of the Ashes
Dropped catches at key moments, proving very costly on two occasions with regard to Mohammed Yousuf
Harmison, despite averaging 27 for the series, bowling like a plank for sustained periods
Hoggard clearly short of confidence and rhythm

[Speedboy Salesman]

Originally Posted by Mongoose

Saj Mahmood finally putting in the kind of performance he is capable of, albeit briefly

I think he is becoming a better England bowler with every match

Originally Posted by Mongoose

Trescothick gradually forgetting how to bat

Sigh it made me say "What the hell are you doing Trescothick" at the TV which I don't normally do.

[Collyisamackem]

Originally Posted by Mongoose

Dropped catches at key moments, proving very costly on two occasions with regard to Mohammed Yousuf
Harmison, despite averaging 27 for the series, bowling like a plank for sustained periods

Glass half full or half empty? The point is the he bowled like the best bowler in the world - which he once was - for the rest of the time. His series average is the sum of thsoe parts and I am deligthed with it.

As for catches, everybody drops some and I feel the standard was high from England in this series. Remember Collingwood's belter of Iqbal, and the numerous run-saving efforts of him, Pietersen and Bell? Even Monty did okay.

[Speedboy Salesman]

Another memorable occasion was when Farhat took a catch off Pietersen and broke his finger.. the replays showing him getting his finger snapped back into place gave me a little chuckle.

[Mongoose]

Originally Posted by Collyisamackem

Glass half full or half empty? The point is the he bowled like the best bowler in the world - which he once was - for the rest of the time. His series average is the sum of thsoe parts and I am deligthed with it.

I was aware of this dilemma as I posted my view. But looking ahead to the Ashes, Harmy will not average 27 if he bowls like he had for much of this series. Many of his wickets have also been tailenders. Apart from OT, he has bowled poorly at the proper batsmen.