Cricket: England vs Pakistan - Test Series

[kevshat]

I'm a happy bunny now. Finally we get a decent sized test series to get stuck into and an intriguing one it is too given Pakistan's performances against Australia. England host Pakistan in a 4 test match series which begins at Trent Bridge on Thursday. All eyes will no doubt be how England perform in comparison to Australia ahead of the big one this winter. This should be a cracking series. Schedule:

Thu Jul 29 - Mon Aug 2 10:00 GMT | 11:00 local 11:00 BST	1st Test - England v Pakistan Trent Bridge, Nottingham	12 - 19° C Forecast Showers Click here for 10-day-Forecast
Fri Aug 6 - Tue Aug 10 10:00 GMT | 11:00 local 11:00 BST	2nd Test - England v Pakistan Edgbaston, Birmingham	N/A

Wed Aug 18 - Sun Aug 22 10:00 GMT | 11:00 local 11:00 BST	3rd Test - England v Pakistan Kennington Oval, London	N/A
Thu Aug 26 - Mon Aug 30 10:00 GMT | 11:00 local 11:00 BST	4th Test - England v Pakistan Lord's, London	N/A

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: England vs Pakistan - Test Series I'll move in with an early one but I'm sure to come back with more before we get going on Thursday. 1.5pts A.Ali Top Pakistan Batsman 6/1 Betfred Having watched the recent Pakistan vs Australia series I really liked the look of Azhar Ali. He made his debut in that series and took an innings to find his feet but he eventually ended 2nd behind Salman Butt in the Pakistan run charts and I think he could go one better at a very nice price here. Ali will bat at number 3 and to be he looks like he has a lovely technique for someone so young and with his maiden test half century in the 2nd test at Headingley, he's steadily growing into test cricket and the challenges it brings. Salman Butt would rate as a big danger as he looks like the Andrew Strauss of the Pakistan side and has turned himself into a very reliable batsman. However I took him at 4/1 against Australia and he's a best priced 11/4 now and that's with the captaincy burdens on him which weren't there when I got the 4/1 on him in the last series. Imran Farhat finally looked like a batsman in the 2nd innings at Headingley and could be another danger but England's new ball pairing is usually potent. Umar Akmal is capable of a big cameo but hasn't really acclimatised to what is needed in test cricket. Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal can both score runs but both bat fairly low down the order so the one for me is Azhar Ali who could turn out to be a lovely price at 6/1.