Pak vs Eng, 1st Test, Dubai

England 192 & 75/5 (35.0 ov)

Pakistan 338

England trail by 71 runs with 5 wickets remaining

Tea - Day 3

• England RR 2.14
• Last 10 ovs 30/1 RR 3.00
• Min overs remaining 38.0

Refresh scorecard			Current time: 14:55 local, 10:55 GMT										Test career
	Batsmen	Runs	B	4s	6s	SR	This bowler				Last 10 ovs			Mat	Runs	HS	Ave
	*Jonathan Trott(rhb)	42	88	6	0	47.72	2 (15b)				18 (31b)			24	2024	226	57.82
	Matt Prior(rhb)	0	3	0	0	0.00	0 (0b)				0 (3b)			48	2619	131*	45.94
	Bowlers	O	M	R	W	Econ	0s		4s	6s	This spell			Mat	Wkts	BBI	Ave
	*Aizaz Cheema(rmf)	7.2	1	9	0	1.22	36		0	0	3-0-4-0			5	20	4/24	26.15
	Abdur Rehman(sla)	9.0	2	25	1	2.77	42		4	0	9-2-25-1			13	58	4/51	31.24

Recent overs . . . . 4 . | 1 . . 1 . . | . . W . . . | . . . . . 1 Current partnership 1 runs, 1.3 overs, RR: 0.66 (Trott 1, Prior 0) Last Bat EJG Morgan c †Adnan Akmal b Abdur Rehman 14 (39b 2x4 0x6) SR: 35.89 Fall of wicket: 74/5 (33.3 ov); Partnership: 39 runs, 13.2 overs, RR: 2.92 (Trott 21, Morgan 14) Umpire reviews remaining England 0 (0 successful, 2 unsuccessful); Pakistan 1 (0 successful, 1 unsuccessful)

End of over 35 (1 run) England 75/5 IJL Trott    42* (88b 6x4)      Aizaz Cheema    7.2-1-9-0 MJ Prior    0* (3b)      Abdur Rehman    9-2-25-1

2.40 pm: It's been a while since England have been pushed to the corner in a Test. They are 71 behind and have already lost half their side. It's been a combination of spin and seam (of Umar Gul) that has done them in in this game. Still not over yet though. Their lower order is one of the strongest in the world

England 192 & 16/1 (8.0 ov)

Pakistan 338

England trail by 130 runs with 9 wickets remaining

Lunch - Day 3

• England RR 2.00
• Min overs remaining 65.0

Refresh scorecard			Current time: 12:21 local, 08:21 GMT										Test career
	Batsmen	Runs	B	4s	6s	SR	This bowler				Last 10 ovs			Mat	Runs	HS	Ave
	*Jonathan Trott(rhb)	8	7	2	0	114.28	0 (0b)				8 (7b)			24	1990	226	56.85
	Alastair Cook(lhb)	2	25	0	0	8.00	0 (6b)				2 (25b)			73	5873	294	49.35
	Bowlers	O	M	R	W	Econ	0s		4s	6s	This spell			Mat	Wkts	BBI	Ave
	*Saeed Ajmal(ob)	1.0	1	0	0	0.00	6		0	0	1-1-0-0			18	90	7/55	28.43
	Umar Gul(rfm)	4.0	2	11	1	2.75	21		2	0	4-2-11-1			41	147	6/135	33.33

Recent overs . . . . W . | . . . 2 . . | . . . . 4 4 | . . . . . . Current partnership 10 runs, 3.1 overs, RR: 3.15 (Trott 8, Cook 2) Last Bat AJ Strauss c †Adnan Akmal b Umar Gul 6 (16b 0x4 0x6) SR: 37.50 Fall of wicket: 6/1 (4.5 ov); Partnership: 6 runs, 4.5 overs, RR: 1.24 (Strauss 6, Cook 0) Umpire reviews remaining England 1 (0 successful, 1 unsuccessful); Pakistan 2 (0 successful, 0 unsuccessful)

End of over 8 (maiden) England 16/1 AN Cook    2* (25b)      Saeed Ajmal    1-1-0-0 IJL Trott    8* (7b 2x4)      Umar Gul    4-2-11-1

12.00pm: England will go into lunch feeling a bit aggrieved with the Strauss dismissal given that it wasn't conclusive. They had the rub of the green going their way not too long ago, but that was against a lower-order batsman. The post-lunch session will involve a lot of concentration, with the spinners operating in tandem.

England 192

Pakistan 288/7 (104.3 ov)

Pakistan lead by 96 runs with 3 wickets remaining in the 1st innings

Stumps - Day 2

• Pakistan RR 2.75
• Last 10 ovs 30/2 RR 3.00

Refresh scorecard			Current time: 20:40 local, 16:40 GMT										Test career
	Batsmen	Runs	B	4s	6s	SR	This bowler				Last 10 ovs			Mat	Runs	HS	Ave
	Adnan Akmal(rhb)	24	67	3	0	35.82	1 (13b)				13 (28b)			11	262	53	32.75
	Bowlers	O	M	R	W	Econ	0s		4s	6s	This spell			Mat	Wkts	BBI	Ave
	*James Anderson(rfm)	23.3	7	57	2	2.42	117		7	0	0.3-0-1-1			64	242	7/43	30.55
	Graeme Swann(ob)	27.0	3	89	2	3.29	117		10	1	4-0-16-1			37	155	6/65	29.02

Recent overs 1 1 1 . 1 . | . . . . . . | . . 2b 1 W 4 | 1 . W Last Bat Abdur Rehman b Anderson 4 (3b 1x4 0x6) SR: 133.33 Fall of wicket: 288/7 (104.3 ov); Partnership: 5 runs, 0.4 overs, RR: 7.50 (Abdur Rehman 4, Adnan Akmal 1) Umpire reviews remaining Pakistan 1 (0 successful, 1 unsuccessful); England 2 (1 successful, 0 unsuccessful)

It's stumps and England will leave the field feeling much, much better than they did yesterday. They didn't run through the batting as they would have liked, but they maintained their discipline and got timely breakthroughs, which would have been rather annoying from the Pakistan dressing-room's point of view. Batsmen made starts but couldn't make the big scores. Hafeez got closest to three-figures but his dismissal gave Swann and England renewed hope. Given Pakistan's bowling strength, this lead of 96 is still a decent cushion to work with. Adnan will have to take control tomorrow morning, farm the strike if appropriate and show more resilience. Waqar Younis says Pakistan aren't in trouble, but things have surely evened out.

England 52/5 (28.0 ov)

Pakistan

England won the toss and elected to bat

Lunch - Day 1

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Refresh scorecard			Current time: 12:39 local, 08:39 GMT										Test career
	Batsmen	Runs	B	4s	6s	SR	This bowler				Last 10 ovs			Mat	Runs	HS	Ave
	*Eoin Morgan(lhb)	6	19	0	0	31.57	1 (4b)				6 (19b)			14	624	130	36.70
	Matt Prior(rhb)	4	27	0	0	14.81	0 (2b)				4 (27b)			48	2553	131*	44.78
	Bowlers	O	M	R	W	Econ	0s		4s	6s	This spell			Mat	Wkts	BBI	Ave
	*Mohammad Hafeez(ob)	5.0	3	3	1	0.60	27		0	0	1-0-1-0			24	22	4/31	37.36
	Saeed Ajmal(ob)	5.0	3	5	3	1.00	26		0	0	5-3-5-3			18	86	6/42	29.17

An excellent session for Pakistan. Hafeez started the rot by sending back Cook. Cheema accounted for Trott as Pakistan maintained the pressure. Ajmal was outstanding as he ran through the middle order. His dismissals of Bell and Pietersen was outstanding. He has not yet unfurled the Teesra but England are having trouble reading his doosra and the off-spinner. England's batsmen have looked clueless and they are already on the back foot. Join us after 40 minutes for the second session.

Pitch Report: There is an even covering of grass on this pitch and it is a bit dry. There are some cracks opening up and there will be some bounce on this track. It will be slow bounce. David Lloyd reckons that there will be a lot of runs on offer on this track. There will be some swing on offer for the bowlers.

Teams:

Pakistan (Playing XI): Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq(c), Asad Shafiq, Adnan Akmal(w), Umar Gul, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Aizaz Cheema

England (Playing XI): Andrew Strauss(c), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior(w), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Chris Tremlett

Misbah: We are playing two spinners. Umar Gul and Aizaz Cheema are the pacers. I am enjoying captaining the side. England are the top side in Tests and it is a Test for all of us. UAE is like home and we have played here for a long time. We know the conditions well.

Strauss: It looks like a good wicket. We have gone for three seamers and one spinner. Tremlett is the pacer along with Anderson and Broad. Swann is the spinner. We are not sure if it will turn much and it is a well balanced team. The wickets are slow and the batsmen have to be patient. We are very excited to be playing Test cricket after a break. Pakistan have been playing good cricket for the last 12 months and we are excited about the challenge.

England have won the toss and elected to bat

England have all to do in conditions where they have been poor. With the added burden of being the No.1 Test side, they will be desperate to reverse their fortunes here. The loss of Tim Bresnan will be a big blow to the English pace attack as he has the capability to bowl long spells in hot conditions and he can also reverse swing the ball.

Under Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan have blossomed and they are playing as one unit. The conditions in the UAE make them favorites against an England side that is playing competitive cricket after a gap of two months.

The recent contests between these two nations have been volatile to say the least. The last time they played in a Test series was in England in 2010 and that was marred by the spot-fixing controversy. Every time these teams have played against each other, controversy has seemed to plague them.

Welcome to the first Test between Pakistan and England from Dubai. It is a new beginning for both teams in 2012. Pakistan had a wonderful 2011 across all formats and they would look to continue their great run here. England, on the other hand, are the number one side in Tests and they will be playing in conditions that are alien to their bowlers.

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Preview by Ganesh C The previous time Pakistan and England met was a series that shook the entire cricketing fraternity. The spot-fixing scandal broke out and Pakistan lost some of their most promising players of recent times. The noise of the scandal is yet to die down and these thoughts will definitely be at the back of the players' minds when they step out. The series is more interesting because both England and Pakistan have been the top teams of 2011. This will be England's first Test series after their highly successful campaign against India at home that saw them rise to the top of the ICC Test rankings. Pakistan, under Misbah-ul-Haq, have seen some steady improvement and look a settled combination, that in itself is considered a huge achievement for the troubled but highly talented team. Pakistan: Misbah ul Haq has exceeded expectations after taking over the captaincy. He took over at a time with a lot of questions being asked about the team and so far they have answered with positive results on the field. The unit looks a steady one and each member of the side has earned his spot through consistent performances. It looks to be one with an ideal mixture of youth and experience too. Mohammad Hafeez had a good time with both bat and ball last year. His batting though will undergo a severe test against the skillful English pacers. His big knocks came against relatively weaker sides in 2011 and this os an opportunity for him to climb to the next level. Taufeeq Umar, Younis Khan and Misbah lend a lot of solidity and experience to the batting and have been in good touch. The emergence of Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq, two youngsters with a lot potential, has been one of the positives. Like it is for Hafeez, these two too will face an entirely different challenge when they come up against arguably the most complete and lethal bowling attack in world cricket today. Pakistan have been blessed in the bowling department. If there was one team that could recover from the loss of the likes of Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif, it had to be Pakistan. Umar Gul has taken over the role of the leader of the attack with great enthusiasm and remains one of the best exponents of reverse swing, something that could prove to be crucial in the dry conditions of the Middle East. They still are spoilt for choice with Aizaz Cheema, Junaid Khan and Wahab Riaz fighting for one spot. Their strength lies in the spin department. Saeed Ajmal has come a long way as an off spinner and his battle with Graeme Swann for the title of the best off-spinner in the world adds an interesting sub-plot to the contest. Abdur Rehman has been an ideal foil for Ajmal but the left-armer is more than capable of running through sides on favourable tracks. England will do well not to ignore him as all the pre-series talk has centered around Ajmal. Misbah and Pakistan have been criticized for being a tad too defensive while batting. They will need to score big and fast to put pressure on their formidable opponents. England: England are the team to beat, especially after the Ashes win and the whitewash of the Indians. Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower have forged an enviable leadership combination. The side boasts of some of the best players in the world right now. The batting has a good mixture of attacking ones and defensive ones. Andrew Strauss has done exceptionally well as a captain but his batting has come down a few notches. The skipper will be the first one to know that and he will be eager to set that record straight. The test against spin could be the biggest for the likes of Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan. These two are still new to the dry conditions that mirror those in the sub-continent but the former in particular has been a prolific scorer since his debut. It remains to be seen if they can successfully adapt to the foreign conditions. Like their counterparts, England have an embarrassment of riches in the pace department. The absence of Tim Bresnan will not affect them too much. Stuart Broad suffered an injury scare leading up to the match and if he is absent too, then England will miss the two all-rounders more for their useful batting down the order. James Anderson, Chris Tremlett, Steve Finn and Graham Onions still make a formidable attack. Andrew Strauss will have to manage his pacers wisely. Long spells in the sapping heat could add to more injuries. England are likely to go ahead with just the lone spinner in Graeme Swann even though Monty Panesar impressed in the tour games. They will be desperate to do justice to their tag of No 1 and prove that they can win in all conditions. Quotes: There is history between the sides but it's important we as players don't get caught up in that. We just have to focus on what we do without taking away our aggressive approach - Stuart Broad They are the top side in the world so we just can't rely on the fact that we know the conditions well. We still have to play good cricket to beat them - Misbah ul Haq

Teams:

England (From): Andrew Strauss(c), Ian Bell, Alastair Cook, Ravi Bopara, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Steve Davies, Steven Finn, Eoin Morgan, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Graham Onions, Matt Prior(w), Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, Jonathan Trott

Pakistan (From): Misbah-ul-Haq(c), Abdur Rehman, Aizaz Cheema, Adnan Akmal(w), Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Imran Farhat, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Talha, Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal, Taufeeq Umar, Umar Gul, Umar Akmal, Younis Khan, Wahab Riaz