LONDON, Aug 16 - England seem certain to go into the fourth and final
test against Pakistan at The Oval with the same side that clinched the series at
Headingley.
Pakistan, meanwhile, seem just as certain to ring the changes for the second
game in a row.
They will go into the game starting on Thursday with their fourth opening
batting combination of the series, after Salman Butt (series average 11.5) and
Taufeeq Umar (series average nine), who opened in the third test, were flown
home.
They may well also opt to remodel their bowling attack as well, with quicks
Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Mohammad Asif back in contention after missing the first
three games with injury.
Bob Woolmer oversaw three changes for the third test and may go as far as
advocating four for the face-saving finale. Both Rana and Asif, he said, both
looked sharp in the nets.
He denied his team, however, were in chaos, preferring to refer to it as
"controlled chaos if anything".
Pakistan's supporters may not be the only ones in hoping for wholesale
changes to their ranks after the home side's dominance at Old Trafford, won by
an innings and 120 runs, and Headingley, won by 167 runs.
England fans might just agree with them.
The series has lacked drama to date because of Pakistan's off-colour bowling
and Rana and Asif, despite their ring-rustiness, could add just that.
HUGE EXCITEMENT
Strike bowler Shoaib Akhtar would have generated huge excitement at The Oval
but Pakistan's selectors have opted to hold him back for the one-day series
after his return from an ankle stress fracture.
England, with an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, have certainly
outplayed their visitors, but they have also had most of the luck on offer.
They got the better of the umpires' decisions at Headingley, while Pakistan's
close catchers continued to gift them life after life, just as they had done in
the earlier games.
The home team, however, on the brink of their first series win since the 2005
Ashes, have been much more successful than their opponents in one key area --
getting the best out of their younger, less experienced players.
INSTANT SUCCESS
Like Pakistan, England have had a bad run of injuries but their stand-ins
have been instantly successful.
Ian Bell, battling to establish himself in the side and shunted down to six
in the order, has scored three centuries in successive tests and averages 119
for the series.
Left-arm spinner Monty Panesar, meanwhile, another man who began the summer
as a fringe player, has taken 16 wickets at 25.75 runs apiece.
