Second Test, Edgbaston: England v Pakistan
Dates: 6-10 August Start time: 1100 BST
Coverage: Live ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC 5 live sports extra, BBC Radio 4 Long Wave and online; Live text commentary, daily reports and scorecard on BBC Sport website and mobiles; also live on Sky Sports with daily highlights on Five  Salman Butt (l) had constant problems as Pakistan skipper in the first Test |
When Salman Butt assumed the captaincy following Shahid Afridi's chaotic resignation last month, he stated that he wanted to bring some consistency into the selection of Pakistan's Test team. Just two matches into the job, and apparently over his head, the selectors have called up Mohammad Yousuf who, at the time of writing the day before the match, is still at 39,000ft in the air en route from Pakistan to England. Even by Pakistan's notoriously disorganised standards, this is an astonishing move. Yousuf was banned from the game following the disastrous tour of Australia; as captain he was held responsible for the infighting that blighted the trip. He retired after his last game of cricket - a Twenty20 match on 5 March - and has been studying Islam ever since. Can he really play in a Test match on Friday, and be expected to make a meaningful contribution? And what impact will his presence have on the dressing room?  | 606: DEBATE |
Similarly, after only one Test, the experienced Danish Kaneria is banished to Essex and an 18-year-old left-arm spinner, Raja Hasan - who was playing club cricket for Budleigh Salterton seconds a week ago - gets the call. If I were anything to do with Pakistan cricket and watched their demise last week, I would be a worried man. Their pace bowling apart, everything else was thoroughly below par - including the wicketkeeping. But introducing panic measures to such a young team is a high-risk strategy. Edgbaston is a building site; another Test venue taking on the colossal financial risk of redeveloping on a large scale. The hole left by the previous stands allows the prevailing wind to sweep across the ground more now, which helps to explain why Stuart Broad found so much swing here when he took eight wickets for Nottinghamshire recently. The almost constant threat of rain will replicate the conditions that James Anderson revelled in at Trent Bridge - where England claimed a resounding victory by 354 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series - but this will also provide another examination for Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook. Pietersen has admitted that he is overdue a big innings; since his last hundred 23 innings ago, he has averaged only 37 which includes seven innings against Bangladesh. People are starting to question his preparation and focus, but he knows that a significant contribution here would put a stop to that.
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