Pakistan vs England 2011-12

Pakistan and England, 

for the first ever time since they met in a Test series in 1954, will be playing on a neutral venue for reasons we all know.

The PCB has been unable to play host to any international team since that unfortunate terrorist attack on the visiting Sri Lankan cricketers in which eight policemen lost their lives and a number of the visiting team players were injured during the second Test in March 2009.

The first of the three Tests starting today at the Dubai Cricket Stadium is neither home for England nor for Pakistan, the hosts of the series.

Conditions may play a part but fact of the matter is that it certainly would be alien to both the teams. Pakistan`s advantage though is that in the last couple of years they have tested their skills on the pitches of Dubai and Abu Dhabi with distinction against South Africa and also against the Sri Lankans in the last series which they won 1-0.

This series will be different, though, for the fact that it is the first meeting between the two outfits since the infamous spot-fixing scandal in 2010 which literally rocked the world of cricket. And therefore, this present contest will be the focal point of world cricket.

Both experts and fans know well that a series between Pakistan and England has rarely been controversy-free.

From the dousing of umpire Idrees Baig by the MCC `A` players during an unofficial Test at Peshawar in 1956 to Pakistan`s unsavoury encounters in England in 1982 and1987 in England, the Mike Gatting-Shakoor Rana tiff during the Faisalabad Test in 1987 to the 1992 ball tampering affair in England to Pakistan forfeiting The Oval Test of 2006, the contests have all been stormy, to say the least.

There is no doubt that this series is going to be a test of nerves and skills for both the teams. The significance of the series can be judged from the fact that nearly fifty of the British print and electronic media correspondent are here to cover the series, anticipating perhaps another nasty controversy during the course.

So far their focus is not so much on the game as on the presence of Pakistani duo of Wahab Riaz and Umar Akmal whose names were mentioned more than once in the spot-fixing trial in London last year which resulted in the eventual conviction of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir.

So far, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has successfully and diplomatically handled the insinuating, and at times, irritating questions regarding the presence of the two young players.

In my opinion, Pakistan should ignore the happenings of the past and instead try and be positive in their attitude. They should keep their cool and produce positive results as they did last year.

England is a top-ranking team, no doubt, but so were India before being toppled from the pedestal last summer by Andrew Strauss`s side which in all-round strength is the best team around the world.

However, things and conditions for them will not be the same as enjoyed in England against India last year when the ball seamed and swung a lot to help James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan dismantle the Indian batting.

A lot of effort will be needed from them to produce that kind of display in the UAE, both with the ball and with the bat. The wickets here, I suppose, will help the spinners more.

Saeed Ajmal promises to unleash a `Teesra` here, a new sort of delivery that he thinks he has discovered. In 2010 series against South Africa Umar Gul was reported to have specialised a `mysterly` delivery after he clean bowled A.B. de Villiers on a beauty.

But we never saw another one like that in the next three innings against South Africa during the series. I suppose gimmicks like these do not work once you get a severe beating by a settled pair of batsmen.

Pakistan`s batting may be a worry because of its inconsistency which was evident in their last outings against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.