BBC SPORT | ENGLAND ON TOUR | England 8-4 Pakistan

BBC Sport Online's Thrasy Petropoulos says England's success against spin in Pakistan raises some intersting questions ahead of the third Test.

If only the results of cricket matches were determined by number of sessions won rather than by runs scored and wickets taken.

For the second Test running, England have come out comfortably ahead on points in more sessions than their opponents going into the final day, but it is Pakistan who look likely to hold the psychological high-ground when the series concludes in Karachi.

Why, then, have England dominated more often than not but still failed to break free?

Shane Warne's spin has consistently bamboozled England
Put simply, the answer is that the batsmen have clearly surprised even themselves at their ability to resist the Pakistani spinners.

Take a look at England's record against Shane Warne's Australia since 1993, Anil Kumble's India away from home, and Mushtaq Ahmed's Pakistan when these teams last met on English soil.

Not a hint of a series win when the ball has turned off the straight.

Take a look also at the utter dominance of quality foreign spinners in the English county championship.

Then there was England's performance in the one-day international series last month where they were sent spinning to defeat in the last two matches.

No hope?

Realistically, there was nothing that England could pin their hopes on ahead of the Lahore Test.

Yet, despite taking eight wickets in England's first innings, Saqlain Mushtaq worked his way through 74 overs and still England were able to declare on the second evening.

Seventy-eight overs of twirl from the other end brought not a single wicket for Mushtaq Ahmed, Shahid Afridi or Qaisir Abbas.

Successful batsmen have been rewarded for patience, not enterprise

Thrasy Petropoulos

Then England threatened to enforce the follow-on, only to be denied by a Yousuf Youhana century. And, playing out time on the final afternoon, they slipped to 77/4 before stumps were drawn.

Despite leading 8-4 on sessions won before the final day, England found themselves only 156 runs ahead with six wickets in hand at the close - one of them Nasser Hussain, who had retired hurt.

They face an almost identical situation on the fifth day in Faisalabad.

To judge by the way Pakistan have approached the sessions they have been in charge of - running through England's top order in the second innings in Lahore, and Abdur Razzaq's injection of pace and purpose on the fourth evening in Faisalabad - they would already have put the series to bed had they enjoyed their opponent's dominance.

With days already restricted to 85 overs (instead of the customary 90), appalling over-rates by both sides that have barely topped 13 overs an hour - and that with spinners operating for much of the time! - and slow, albeit turning, pitches, England simply have not had the fire power to force the pace.

Ashley Giles, their most effective bowler, has accumulated wickets with his left-arm spin, and the successful batsmen have been rewarded for patience, not enterprise.

That is how Tests are drawn, not won.

Slow tempo

But, of course, that is the way of the Test cricket. Teams must first avoid defeat and only then push for victory.

But, despite building a platform in both first innings, England's scoring rate with the bat has been but a faint heart-beat above funereal.

Ashley Giles has caused Pakistan problems
Michael Atherton and Marcus Trescothick set the tempo in Lahore with a highly effective opening partnership of 134 in 55 overs.

But when Ashley Giles and Ian Salisbury were "driving" (should that be tootling?) home England's advantage the next day, their stand of 70, to take England to 468/8, came at slower rate of 2.33 runs per over.

The story of the second Test has been a similar one of England surpassing expectations with their total achieved - but also one of "What if?".

England's 342 all out came at a rate of 2.49 runs per over, and that only after Craig White's virtuoso 41 off 46 balls on the fourth morning, which included 3 fours and two sixes.

By contrast, Graham Thorpe's gritty 79 - an innings which, admittedly, kept England in the game - came from 246 balls.

But perhaps England are right to adopt such an approach.

Caution correct

After all, Trescothick had gone on the offensive at the start of the innings with three fours and a six off Danish Kaneria's second ball in Test cricket. But his sense of adventure cost him his wicket when he charged, and missed, the leg spinner's googly soon after.

On the other hand, that is not how Test matches are won.

Pakistan's run rate in Faisalabad was 2.92 per over in their first-innings 316 - despite being in difficulty at 151/5 - and so far they have achieved precisely three runs per over in their second innings.

Furthermore, Nasser Hussain was very quickly forced on to the defensive with his field placings, taking further pressure off the batsmen.

Revealingly, only Pakistan can force a win on the final day when the England batsmen's ability against spinners will once again be put under the microscope.

Clearly, if they survive and force the draw they will have some crucial decisions to make before Karachi - do they look to dominate and snatch a surprise series victory, or continue to play it safe and emerge with an honourable draw.


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