The bitterness remains from the spot-fixing scandal of 2010 but the neutral setting may defuse the heat
If ever a location appears designed to try to take the heat out of the first meeting between Pakistan and England since the match-fixing scandal, it is the United Arab Emirates. The aggravation and bitterness that still lingers after events that led to three Pakistani players receiving jail sentences could be hard to maintain in what to date has been international cricket's most stultifying location.
Test cricket does not need a stalemate, but an anticipated combination of low crowds, draining heat and benign pitches could have such a tranquillising effect on proceedings that recriminations could feel just too much like hard work ? at least until the first cry of "no-ball".
Pakistan have made quiet improvements since a News of the World sting during their Test series in England in the summer of 2010 led to three of their players, the captain Salman Butt among them, receiving lengthy bans from the International Cricket Council and jail sentences in Southwark crown court. In their adopted home in the United Arab Emirates, as the Fake Sheikh has given way to real sheikhs, there has been a more controlled aspect to their play that England will have noted.
The new chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Zaka Ashraf ? although his appointment was criticised as more of the same political patronage ? has so far appeared to be a steadier hand than the man he replaced, Ijaz Butt. This three-Test series, which will be followed by four one-day internationals and three Twenty20 games, may be first versus fifth in the world, but England, after the rare luxury of a five-month break since their last Test, will have to be at their best to win it.
Last autumn, as the debate sounded about falling Test crowds in many parts of the world, a colleague said it would not be long before spectators in some venues would be paid to watch Test cricket, so ensuring a more appealing backdrop for the TV cameras. It was an interesting thought. If they were paid to attend, would they be paid even more to cheer? Would they be fined if they were caught yawning on camera or watching Premier League highlights on their iPhone?
In Abu Dhabi in October something similar occurred. Spectators were not paid to attend a Pakistan Test against Sri Lanka, but they were let in free and even then they did not exactly rush there in their thousands. The Emirates Cricket Association has yet to confirm whether the same policy will apply for England's visit, but it would be no bad thing. This Test series would be better fought not as an imagined moral crusade, but as an important contribution to ensuring the survival and, ultimately, regenerationof Pakistan cricket while fears of terrorism cause them to play "home" internationals outside their own country. The more the stadiums in Abu Dhabi and Dubai feel like a Pakistan home occasion the better.
Mick Newell, as well as being a past coach of England Lions, is also coach of a Nottinghamshire side that have experienced cricket in the Middle East. Notts, as champion county, met MCC in a no longer so traditional curtain raiser in Abu Dhabi in March played under floodlights with experimental pink balls. Even those unusual circumstances left them keenly aware of the task that England face.
"England are not used to playing in front of the sort of low Test crowds they might encounter in the Middle East," Newell says. "The best way to counter it is by doing nothing different, ensuring that warm-ups and preparation are approached with the same intensity and thoroughness. Maybe England will get their support staff around the boundary a bit more, talking to bowlers at fine leg, gingering people up a bit. Although it appears that nobody is interested, you don't think like that because there will be millions watching around the world."
Memories of match fixing should ensure enough zest remains even in the flattest of stalemates. Wahab Riaz, back in the Pakistan squad, was mentioned in passing in match-fixing evidence, but never charged with an offence. He was dropped for Pakistan's tour to Bangladesh and said at the time: "To insinuate I have been dropped because of some spot-fixing allegations is not acceptable." Shoaib Akhtar also told, in his autobiography, Controversially Yours, of his despair when one England player made accusations against Riaz during a net session. England's response to Riaz on the field will be keenly studied.
"I don't think there will be much need to turn them on against Pakistan," Newell concedes. "There are enough memories there. If it was England v Bangladesh in front of an empty crowd in Abu Dhabi, then maybe that would be more difficult. There should be enough feeling for it to be a hard-fought series. The pitches we played on were slow with not much carry and didn't deteriorate massively over the four days. Conditions were also pretty warm, so it was quite tough for bowlers and fielders. What you don't want are three dead games. That would be a nightmare for Test cricket."
The ICC will feel the same way. Plans are afoot for the UAE to have 10 good-class cricket grounds by 2014. Twelve countries applied last year for ICC development funding and only the UAE received it. It was quite a gift to one of the richest regions of the world.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/dec/31/england-pakistan-test-series-emirates
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