New ball duo hunt together, and never let Pakistan off the hook...
Monday 2 November 2015 08:17, UK
Sir Ian Botham praised England's potent pairing of James Anderson and Stuart Broad as they helped England bowl Pakistan out for 234 on day one of the third Test in Sharjah.
Anderson took 4-17 - to become the eighth all-time leading Test wicket-taker - and Broad 2-13. The duo are second-most prolific new ball pairing with 606 wickets in 80 Tests, behind only Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh who took 762 in 95 matches for the West Indies.
"They were terrific," said Botham. "They hunt together, and they never let Pakistan off the hook. It gives England a great chance now of winning this match.
"We talk about the discipline of batsmen when they're out in the middle, but bowlers have to show the same kind of discipline, and today they were excellent.
"Anderson just gets better and better, like a good red wine, and Stuart Broad is a great number two, a fantastic wingman.
"We all thought this pitch would turn, but we didn't really expect the seamers to dominate as they did, so to take those wickets on day one was magnificent."
Spin accounted for the other four wickets in Pakistan's innings, with Samit Patel taking 2-85 on his return to the Test side and Moeen Ali 2-49, while Adil Rashid went wicketless, with his 10 overs costing 41 runs.
Botham was a little disappointed by England's spinners considering the helpful nature of the pitch, but hopes they can perform when the pressure is on in Pakistan's second innings.
"It's work-in-progress," said Botham. "A bit like my school reports, 'could do better'.
"Your margin for error is so small on these pitches, you can't drop it short or you'll get punished both sides of the wickets like we saw today.
"But we don't have an abundance of spinners in England. These are the guys are out here, they're the ones with the opportunity and it is up to them to grasp it.
"If England can go on and score 300 plus runs on here, these guys should come into their own. The one problem might be though when bowlers are expected to perform on a turning pitch, is it's a different ball game, as the attitude from the team is 'over to you guys'. We will have to see how they respond to that."
A sour note to England's efforts with the ball was an injury to Ben Stokes in the final session, with the all-rounder escorted from the field after falling awkwardly on his right shoulder when attempting a catch.
The ECB have said Stokes will go for a scan on Monday morning to assess the injury, and Botham is hopeful it's not too serious.
"The one thing I can assure you is that if Ben Stokes is in pain and has come off the pitch with his arm in a sling, it means it's hurting and it's serious," added Botham. "He doesn't mess around, he's as tough as old boots.
"What we've got to hope is that it settles down overnight, he'll have a scan and we'll see. It's an extremely painful injury, believe me, but fingers-crossed."
Live coverage of the third Test continues with day two on Sky Sports 2 HD from 5.45am on Monday. You can also watch without a contract on NOW TV.
