The part-time spinner then bowled Atherton for 66 after the England captain made room to
The part-time spinner then bowled Atherton for 66 after the England captain made room to cut the arm ball. Getting the ball to grip the pitch and turn, he took three quick wickets. The last, a perfectly pitched googly, bowling Dermot Reeve through a gate almost as large as the one built by Aurangzeb in Lahore fort.However, it was the left-arm spin of Aamir Sohail who stopped England’s momentum dead after Smith had gone for 75 when he had Graeme Hick neatly stumped by Rashid Latif as he played over a half-volley. It was an almost impossible field to bowl to and England sped to 134 without loss after 25 overs, a score that merely seemed to strengthen rumours of Pakistan’s intentions of throwing the match.However, Mushtaq’s brilliant second spell, soon cut short any such aspirations.
Even an injury to his calf – which required the services of a runner – did not seem to curtail his power, though he was out soon after.Atherton was more circumspect to start with, later opening his shoulders to mow and swat the danger man, Mushtaq Ahmed, to the boundary in a calculated bid to prevent the leg-spinner from settling.It was a ploy that worked well, particularly as Wasim had started by giving his spinners a six-three off-side field to bowl to, with nobody saving the single on the leg-side. He later denied making any such statement, though rumour has it that a lot of money went on England.Although recent accusations of misconduct have been levelled at certain members of the Pakistan side, managing to be able to throw a game against this England side, at least convincingly, would be harder than the tasks of Hercules – a view taken by one paper whose headline read: “Only a miracle can stop Pakistan going to India.”If it was an option, they did not take it, and later Pakistan’s captain, Wasim Akram, told reporters that “the whole side are ready for any other team”, claiming it was far better for confidence levels to beat a strong side in the quarter-finals.They were certainly ready for England, who were 20 to 30 runs light on a pitch that offered about as much margin for error as a jackpot-winning lottery ticket.Having dropped Alec Stewart, Michael Atherton, who won the toss, opened alongside Robin Smith, who considering he has played little more cricket on this trip than Ray Illingworth, struck the ball well and often enough to find the boundary nine times.An early six off Waqar Younis was a reminder how England have missed someone of Smith’s power, the ball skimming over square-leg from his swivelling pull shot. At least it had until an article in the Dawn newspaper appeared, quoting Pakistan’s manager, Intikhab Alam, as saying that Pakistan could throw the England match as well as the one against New Zealand, simply in order to get a home tie. The only uncertainty will be over injuries to Robin Smith and Neil Fairbrother, and the latter’s hamstring will be assessed today before a decision is made about replacing him with either Nasser Hussain or Mark Ramprakash.It is a combination that – given England’s form and Sri Lanka’s two walkover wins – has looked likely for some time. England may slowly be getting their act together, but at this rate they will still be some way down the pecking order when it comes to booking a berth in the final.This result at least means they know where (Faisalabad), when (next Saturday) and against whom (Sri Lanka) their quarter-final will be. Cricket
reports from Karachi England 249-9 Pakistan 250-3 (Pakistan win by 7 wickets)
The good news is that England did not have a calamitous day. The bad news, however, is that they were beaten at a canter by a Pakistan side who were similarly humbled by South Africa a few days ago.
If, on the other hand, they go to Faisalabad determined to give it a real crack, then who knows? Having been walloped by New Zealand, South Africa and Pakistan they are one good innings away from the semi- final Funny old game, cricket.. The other day they took India’s first five overs for 50, and never looked back.Atherton agreed yesterday that Sri Lanka are “no longer a pushover”, but that is a bad understatement. If England go into the match with the least sense that they ought, by rights, to win, they could come one heck of a cropper. Anyway, they march on (if that is the right word) to face Sri Lanka.It is not clear that they realise it, but they will start as underdogs. The Sri Lankan game plan is to take 100 off the first 15 overs, and they have mastered it.
And Thorpe once again put himself in line for some sort of medal by giving the back end of the batting a semblance of order with his third consecutive half century. And in this part of the world, where every game is an excuse for some very heavy betting, there is a widespread conviction that money talks louder than runs.Much of this rumour-mongering is overcooked, as yesterday’s performance by Pakistan showed. But international cricket is going to have to do something to clean up its image, if not its act. A game that has ceased to be trusted as a contest becomes, at best, a kind of cabaret – mere empty showmanship.England, as it happened, nearly played well.
Atherton and Smith punished Pakistan for an hour and a half until normal service resumed in a flurry of wickets. The truth, it turned out, was banal – Pakistan are simply a mess in the field. But it was an object lesson in what happens when one’s view of the game is infected by doubts about its integrity. Cricket is extremely open to misinterpretation: every time a batsman is out, or a catch dropped, or a stumping missed, it looks bad – yet these are just normal parts of any game. This World Cup, with its foolish round of empty matches, has been a paradise for cynics.
