England slump to heavy defeat.

So, England were completely annihilated today by a Pakistan team who look to be on top form. With Trott the only man in the top 5 to reach double figures, there'll no doubt be some head-scratching in the England dressing room as to where it all went so wrong!

With Pakistan finishing on a well-constructed 338, England started their innings 146 runs adrift of their opponents, with a solid start from openers Andrew Strauss and Alistair Cook absolutely necessary. When Andrew Strauss departed with a waft at a leg-side delivery from Umar Gul with score only on 6, surely a repeat of the dire batting performance of the first innings wasn't on the cards? It was. Cook scratched around before a poorly executed pull found its way to the Pakistani wicket-keeper Adnan Akmal, whose glove-work appears far superior to that of his brother Kamran. With the score 25-2 surely this was a moment for Kevin Pietersen, a man known for his performances under pressure, to stand up and save his team? Not quite. His hatred to being on 0, led to him falling into the age-old bouncer/man on the fence trap, hooking Umar Gul to the fielder at deep square leg. Ian Bell, for the second time of the match, fell to Ajmal's doosra, a delivery he'll have to learn to pick if he hopes to have any success this series.  Morgan edged behind off Rehman, Trott, chasing his fifty, chased a wide one off Umar Gul, and when Prior fell LBW to Ajmal, the score was 87-7; a far cry from the 400 England needed to keep the game alive.  Token resistance was offered from Swann, Broad, and James Anderson, with the latter carting Ajmal over cow-corner for a huge six. England finished 160 all out, just 15 ahead of the Pakistanis, who chased the total down in a matter of minutes and with no real scares.

So, what's going on? Well, Pakistan seem to have taken a far more measured approach to their game. Since Misbah has taken over the captaincy, Pakistan's average per wicket has risen from a meagre 32 to a solid 42, with a fall in average run-rate indicating a more mature approach to their batting. Moreover, the Pakistan attack seem to have far more fire power than the average bowling attacks of India and Australia, against whom England have had so much success recently. Umar Gul provides a hard-hitting pace option, with Cheema showing promise, and Ajmal, a top-class spinner, backed up by the parsimonious Rehman.

Was it however, not just a case of Pakistan's power, but England's weakness on the sub-continent? In short, no. The pitch in Dubai seems similar to the likes of those you would find at the Oval or Edgbaston, and in the words of Nasser Hussain 'it wasn't Colombo'. England's dire performance it seems, probably stemmed from their rustiness after an extended break from cricket, and Pakistan's new-found approach to batting, their firepower in the bowling department, and their confidence in the field.