England Face Mental Challenge

Article Posted: 23rd January 2012

Michael Vaughan says England must adapt to the conditions in their second test agains Pakistan if they are to level the series at 1-1.

In his latest Daily Telegraph column, the former Test skipper said England's batsmen must occupy the crease for longer then work out how to score runs, particularly against Saeed Ajmal.

He said: "This England have lost before but this one was different. They were hammered by Australia in Perth during the last Ashes and bounced back to win by an innings in Melbourne but the conditions at the MCG suited England’s strengths. There is no chance of that in Abu Dhabi next week.
 

"Two years ago on the tour of South Africa they were blown away at the Wanderers by top quality bowling. It was the last Test of the series so they didn’t face another examination a few days later like they will out here.
 

"England’s batsmen are high quality players but they have not faced an attack as good as Pakistan’s for a long time and the worry is that Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal were not at their best in Dubai. So the batsmen must follow Matt Prior’s lead.
 

"First and foremost against mystery bowlers and reverse swing you have to occupy the crease and cling on at the start of your innings. Prior faced 40 balls in the first innings and scored four runs but he stayed patient and worked out how to score ones and twos. Pakistan don’t bowl many bad balls so you just have to work out a method."

To read the column in full click HERE