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Well, it's not going too great at the moment, Pakistan are 243-4 at the mo. We were doing ok, until Inzi came in. Bell took a superb catch for the 4th wicket, off of his own bowling

Vaughan drop Afridi. Easy pickings!  :x
Now he's hitting six's.  :evil:

Read in yesterdyas paper that they're worried about Gilo's fitness and Min Patel is on standby!  :?

they were 87-3 but closed on 300-4...

not good  :(

Excellent crowd in though. Has the 2005 Ashes saved test cricket?

I think that was mainly due to the inclusion of Afridi for Pakistan, a local, national and international hero (according to Gower). Tbh, the crowd for the 1st test wasn't too good....

Yeah, but on the subcontinent Test crowds are usually a lot lower than those at Multan. Talking 5,000 a day. It had over 30,000 in it today, thats a real turnaround from the last series. Usually they only turn out for 1 day games.

Maybe it's partly to do with the fact that England are "the best test team in the World at present" and Pakistan beat us in the 1st test

Guess so. Its all good for the game, however the interest has been created.

Absolutely http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/grinser/grinning-smiley-003.gif

well, im once again not surprised. if england get a draw out of this test series that would be an achievement!

post ashes hangover is going on for a little too long for my liking! England haven't had the luck of winning the toss in this series though and really they beat themselves in the first test. Pakistan were shit in that game but gave it to them on a plate just like the England teams of old!  :-))(

Just been watching the Aussie Vs Windies game and the commentator said about the Ian Bell catch.

Anyway he went on to say that Rashid Latif(previous Pakistan Wicketkeeper) has called for Ian Bell to be banned after not owning up to the ball hitting the floor.

Tbf, i don't think he even knew. With most of these close-call-catches, the fielder will go at the ball with their hands and won't be able to tell if its bounced or not. It was only after several slo-mo's that it seemed to show it bouncing. Yes, it should have been reffered the the 3rd umpire, but the umpire made the decision and that's final. Lets ban Taufel!  :roll: (The World's best umpire atm)

462 all out.We will just have to try and grind it out,but a draw at the best i think :( .
On another topic,i saw the Weakest link Ashes special on Saturday.Ashley Giles was asked the question "Juan Carlos was crowned king of which country?".The answer being of course that he was made King of Spain. :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick: I can't believe it wasn't a set up.

Oh i forgot about that weakest link .. who won it??

K.O.S won it,he and Hoggy were standing next to each other and voted exactly the same way all the time :-))(   Cheating swines :) Anne was lusting after Simon Jones :shock:

the weakest link was funny! but back to the subject of Ian Bell. what a load of nonsense! how can he be banned for that? you see that in cricket all the time these days and i bet Pakistan do it as well. on the game itself at least we have started our 1st innings ok

39-2 Strauss and Vaughan have gone :( ,as usual it always seems to be hard when you are chasing such a high total [even if the wicket is flat].

Pathetic so far it has to be said .. Strauss hasnt performed once on the tour and has dropped catches too

HOLY SHIT, A MASSIVE EXPLOSION AT THE GROUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!

whats happening?? I cant see pictures and the internet isnt clear on it

Turns out it was a gas cylinder. They really should be calling that a day, all the players look quite shook up. I think they are playing on, expect further wickets to fall :x

Blimey !!

Id say call off the tour and lets get out of there ... especially the way we are playing!

Bomb the country - send in Bush - he's just round the corner in Beijing at the moment....

Don't panic,it was a gas cylinder being used to power the Pepsi sign,not a  bomb.Of course it does seem slightly stupid to be using a gas bottle near the pitch in boiling hot Pakistan,hopefully they won't use them
again :-))( .Luckily only one person was hurt,it could have been worse.
113-3 at the end of the day, Tres went for 48  :( .

On a flat pitch were 113-3!, another shite day for us then. :-))(

Not been the best tour so far ... If we lose this one I think its worth blooding Cook, Loudon and Plunkett in the final test

The Pakistani's thought about jumping to safety away from the explosion, but thought better of it when they saw Pietersen saying "Don't worry, just jump and I'll catch you".

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40573000/jpg/_40573329_blunkd203.jpg

Oh you said Plunkett.  :)

Yeah side would be
Tresco
Cook (as Strauss fit missus is having a baby)
Vaughan
Bell
Pietersen
Flintoff
Prior
Loudon
Plunkett
Hoggy
Harmison

 :soapy tit wank: Though hasn't K.P made two catches in the match so far?
Fatbury i think your right,we should try and blood some youngsters [if we lose :-))( ]At least we've learnt one thing,that Shaggy bless him,probably isn't a test spin bowler :( We have really missed Jones :( we just have to hope he's fit for the India tour.
Oh and Inzamam shouldn't have been given out,terrible decision by the umpires.

but funny nontheless

Taken from BBC Sport:-

*Pakistan have won six and lost five of the 22 Tests they have played in Faisalabad - their last victory, against Zimbabwe, was nine years ago.  :shock:

If you look at those stats it makes you question how we could be doing so poorly against them at Faisalabad,but of 22 tests, half have finished in results and the other half must have been drawn.I think it goes to show  that Pakistan tend to draw a lot, and maybe they don't play tests at Faisalabad too frequently as well.
I just think Pakistan have played well and we haven't ,simple as.There have been some mitigating circumstances :-))(  :) ,Jones out[a massive loss],losing the toss on a flat wicket,back to back test matches,spinners not playing[ or not allowed to play ]well,lack of experience in Pakistan conditions.But when all is said and done we should have won that first test,i still have faith in the lads though and i want us to win every time we play BUT we won the Ashes and frankly that was all i really cared about this year :) .

How is Botham getting on?

tresco hit 48 right? ive been at school allday so only saw the end of pakistans innings...

Yes indeed he did and now Banger is out we are probably fucked :(

i reckon we could still make 300....thats about it though!  :soapy tit wank:

300 is optimistic i reckon :( Their bowlers seem to be getting more out of the wicket and it always hard to chase a huge total.But 'tomorrow is another day' and anything could happen i guess :) it might rain :wink: ,hopefully there won't be anymore gas bottles left at the side of the pitch as well :-))(

Naughty boy  :evil:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/4457910.stm

all good teams have bad games and bad series. i think Fatbury's suggestion of changing the side is a bit far-feched. you dont become a great team overnight. it took Australia a few years and thats how long it will take us. we  are only a "good" team at the moment and that doesn't mean we are going to everyone left right and centre. also lets not forget that a lot of these players have never played on the sub-continent before

Couldn't really care less about this game anymore.

The England players were wearing black armbands on day 2 to remember a good friend of mine who died yesterday with a heart attack at the bar after the first day's play.

 :cry:  :cry:  :cry:

i noticed the black arm bands and the tv said nothing, thought they would of!

who was it then boeta if you don't mind me asking!?

http://www.ecb.co.uk/england/england-fan-dies-in-pakistan,6708,EN.html

Sorry to hear about that mate.  :(

My condolences go out to his friends and family.

Thats sad news :( ,it would be a nice gesture by the Pakistan board if they put that plaque up.

217-3 at lunch

K.P has got his century with a six then he got out.We need Bell to do the same now, get a century i mean :oops: not get a century and then get out.
261-4,not far behind the follow on target now.

Pietersen has just undone all the hard work by smashing the ball straight to Yousuf of the bowling of Shoaib. He had hit the previous ball for six to bring up his 100.

Good effort from KP tho .. well overdue

We need centuries from Bell end and Freddie too tho ... 375 must be the target score im afraid tho and we are pretty short of that at the mo

What about Afridi dancing on the wicket then?There is a great mock up on the TMS forum with a  Afridi 'Titchmarsh' book called 'The gardeners guide to ruining pitches' and a picture of Afridi with a spade. :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

should have been banned from continuing in this game tho dont you think .. still its good hes out of next match and 2 one dayers at least

Bollocks .. Freddie out for 1 ... just when things were going better!

Hurrah for Bell - 115 n.o. at lunch
I withdraw all my moaning about him during the Ashes  :oops:

Jones supporting with 23 n.o.

327 - 5

Spoke too soon .. Bell out!

Useless tosspot   :soapy tit wank:

Looks like KOS and Jonesy are goin OK (touch wood), 86 behind with 4 wickets in hand.  Hopefully a draw can be salvaged.

what a surprise .. cheating Aussie umpire finally gives an lbw .. as soon as Pakistan appeal for one!!

391-7 at the close, 71 behind with 2 days to play, the draw seems to becoming a distinct possibility.  Hopefully KOS will not have suffered too serious an injury after being hit on the toe.

doing ok .. 2 days left .. draw would be a good result having lost the toss and would give us a chance of drawing the series in the last game at least .. which overall wouldnt be too bad

Not a bad performance all in all although a few disappointments (Vaughan, Flintoff, Strauss)

Draw would be good, but we've got a chance to bowl them out so its actually advantage England, cos we can control the pace of the remaining game.

I love that positive slant!

I wouldnt say its advantage England, the pitch is still a batting wicket and i cant see anything other than a draw from here.

Some of us were saying the last test was probably going to be a draw
too :-))(  :)
I think its Pakistan who are in the box seat if they bowl us out cheaply tommorrow especially.It will be interesting to see how they bat ,if they try and push on and take risks to go for the win or take their time and settle for a draw.The trouble is its hard to play for a draw in cricket these days.Whatever happens,it boils down to being another good game.

i think we are in control now. ok maybe not in control but in the game most definatly. 30 or 40 more runs tomorrow and we are less than 50 behind. bowl them out for 250 and then bat out the 300 on the last day. a tall order but achieveable none the less.

Great 9th wicket partnership between Steve Harmison (16) and Udal (33*)
Stuck an extra 47 onto the score.

Pakistan 16 runs ahead at half-time.

Malik (Bell catch off Flintoff) and Khan (lbw Hoggard) have gone already - 104-2

Need faster wickets though....come on England

Butt has just been given out lbw,sounds a bit controversial,as the ball before was adjudged to be a dead ball [when it wasn't]so Butt had taken a run but was called back the next ball he was given out.Hair sounds like he's on a one man mission against Pakistan,not a lot we can do about it though.
109-3

Oh apparently there is a new law[42:14],where if the umpire rules that the batsman is running on the wicket in such a way to damage the wicket up,its called a dead ball.
132-3,if you include their lead from the first innings.

Larwood do you follow the matches with BBC online too? either that or you have an encylopaedic knowledge of the laws of the game.

Well done freddie 2 in an over to leave them 164-5 and stil hope for England

Well done Freddie ... hope we can keep this up!

Anyone following this online try www.cricinfo.com
much faster score updating, but no commentry

http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/NEW/LIVE/frames/ENG_PAK_T2_20-24NOV2005.html

thats what i use!

199 in front at the close with 4 still in the shed, inzy still in and the tail, anything better than 250 will be a mountain to climb, still gotta favour the draw.

Good to get one more before the close - we could chase this game still - need four quick wickets though....

I noticed  one of the innumerable signs that the Pakistan fans put up said:
Flintoff the great
Afridi the greatest
All i have to say to that is BOLLOCKS :)
Hopefully they took the piss as Afridi left,cheating git :x .Yet again any outcome is possible,another great game in the making.I just hope we get them out for less than 250,anymore than that i think will be too hard to chase.

Yes, i know the laws inside and out :wink:
No i was listening to TMS at the time,i have a little radio that i listen to on the quiet. :)

Bloody hell, i went to bed at 8:30am and Pakistan were looking comfortable, i wake up and put the text on and they're 6 down.  :D

COME ON ENGLAND!

it's going well! we need to get inzaman out sharpish though if we are going to set ourselves a target (lets hope we dont collapse this time either)

Apparently, we've been playing for a hour, but Pakistan have only scored 30 runs :? Still, we've taken a wicket, but crucially, Inzy is still there :shake:

COME ON ENGLAND! I want us to be well into the mad run chase by the time i get home (half 7)

Well its currently 241-8 and Inzy has just been dropped by Strauss out on the legside boundry.  :evil:

Sami has just gone lbw to Hoggard!, 244-9 which puts them 260 ahead.

COME ON BOYS! ONE MORE!

Inzys a complete cunt!, a very good batsman cunt though.

He's also in my Fantasy Cricket team.  :beers:

Inzys just got his hundred and declared.

We now need 285 to win  :?

1-1, Trescothick misjudges it and Shoaib clean bowls him.  :evil:

ARSE BISCUITS :evil:

5-1 at Lunch.

I want to know why we didnt take the fucking new ball!?.  :evil:

Please tell me i'm imagining this, 10-3 :x

20-4 ffs :evil:

Holy Fuck - that's not what I wanted to wake up to this morning  :shock:

Come on people get it together...

The runs are ticking over, but Flintoff and Pietersen are playing like one dayers  :shock:

Pietersen - 22 off 22 balls
Flintoff - 10 off 13 balls.
With 8 extras in that as well

KP's gone, next hour's gonna be crucial to this test match!!!

105-5

153 - 6  (Flintoff last man out for 56)

Abot 25 minutes to hang on or hit 100 runs  :mrgreen:

Should (?) be OK for a draw, touching as much wood as possible!

wel that was lucky!

well i went to bed at 8:20am and we were 20-4 so i would have easily taken a draw from that position.

Bring in Loudon for the last test.

id like to see Prior (to see what he can do! but as a batsman not as wickie), Loudon (as Giles is injured and Udal not up to it) and Plunkett (as we dont need 2 spinners and Simon Jones is injured).

Treso
Vaughan
Pietersen
Bell
Prior
Flintoff
Jones
Loudon
Hoggard
Harmison
Plunkett

We only need one spinner cos if were desperate Vaughan can bowl his off break.

Yeah so far our spinners have been very ineffective :( Although without their batting we could have been further in the shit.
According to Aggers [ who is in my eyes,crickets answer to Reg :wink: ] the next test in Lahore has a strong chance of being a draw.The wicket is like dry concrete,the chances of days finishing early are high and on the Friday of the test match there will be an hour lost to prayer.Of course all this might be wrong :-))(  :)

 :roll:

It does seem a tad strange,but i may have misheard as it was about 5.30 in the morning at the time :wink:

Typical English overreaction, as after the 1st Test v the Australians.

Plunkett in for Udal or Giles I could tolerate, although it's more likely to be Jimmy. I'd rather see Cook in than Prior or Colly, but it will obviously be the shitster from Durham. Loudon at 8 as a bowler - don't make me laugh. He'll be good enough to bat at 5 in a couple of years but his bowling is a total joke - don't believe the media they know less about cricket than your average hedehog.