A team on the rise

It was difficult to know what to expect going into the Twenty20 series, the final leg of England's tour to the UAE. England were in an experimental mode, trying out many different faces and resting the more familiar as they search for their best eleven for the World Twenty20 in March next year. Their record since the last tournament might be a good one, but before this series, it was a record based upon four matches. With many new names around the squad - as well as a rather new coach - it was a chance for many to prove themselves worthy of making the trip to India in the spring.

Match one certainly showed their intent to mix it up. Despite being in the squad, players like Root and Buttler were absent from the side, with Sam Billings taking on the keeper's gloves and James Vince making his long-awaited debut. Both made their impact, too - Billings was the top scorer with 53 from just 25 balls, whilst Vince scored 41 and helped England recover from early setbacks that left them 19/3. Partnerships were key - the recovery between Vince and Morgan (45*); the later assault with Morgan and Billings, as 65 runs came from the last six overs to bring England's total to 160.

The bowlers did their job too, another attack with different faces. Topley continued to impress early in his international career, taking 3/24; whilst Stephen Parry took two wickets in his first match since England's defeat to the Netherlands at the previous World Twenty20. Parry has long been an important part of Lancashire's Twenty20 success, and showed he has something to offer England in India where spin will be important. The pick of the bowlers though was Liam Plunkett, something of a forgotten man on this tour and playing only his second international Twenty20 after making his debut back in 2006. Plunkett took 3/21, constantly looking a threat as his pace troubled the batsmen. What perhaps hurt Pakistan most though was the run out of Umar Akmal - as both he and Sohaib Maqsood were left sliding their bat in at the same end. It was comedy cricket at its finest, and the first of three wickets to tumble in the space of six deliveries. The lower order took Pakistan close, but they had been left with an uphill struggle. England took the first match by 14 runs.

England continued to mix things up in the second match. Morgan was out of the team as Buttler captained the side for the first time, with Moeen Ali was also missing out. No one player stood out with the bat for England as several made starts, Vince top scoring with a 24-ball 38 in England's total of 172/8. With Plunkett again taking three wickets, and Rashid taking 2/18 from his four overs, England looked to be heading for a comfortable victory. The run rate was getting out of hand for Pakistan, but Pakistan had Shahid Afridi. You never know when Afridi will go full Afridi, but it happened in match two. Pakistan needed 47 to win from 18 balls; Afridi faced eight and scored 24. But Woakes held his nerve. He had taken the brunt of Afridi's attack, but took his wicket with the last ball of the 18th over, and in the final over came out on top. England secured a narrow 3-run victory, and with a match still to play, the series was theirs.

When they fell to 86/6 in the last match, they'll have been glad the series was already secure, too. Both Roy and Moeen Ali had been dismissed for golden ducks, and both Buttler and Billings were out for single figures. This time Woakes starred with the bat, hitting 37 from 24 to help England's score to a competitive 154/8, and Vince again top scored with 46 in something of an anchor role as the wickets tumbled around him. Pakistan had a rather chaotic start to their reply: Willey's first over having a boundary, four wide balls down the legside, a wicket (bowled), and then a run out after another mix up that left both batsmen at the same end. But the game was never over - Shoaib Malik making 75 from 54 and Afridi starring again with 29. Pakistan needed ten from the final over, and after Tanvir hit a six on the second ball, victory looked like theirs. But it wasn't. A dot, a single, and finally the wicket of Malik, before a bye on the last ball that left scores tied.

A super over was called for. Pakistan would bat - unsurprisingly, Afridi was their man; surprisingly, Akmal was chosen over Malik. England chose Chris Jordan as their bowler, another surprise - in the main match he hadn't taken a wicket, and was their most expensive. But his super over was bang on. The fifth ball especially was spot on, a yorker that could only be hit back to him. Pakistan could muster only three runs, and Akmal was bowled on the last ball. Afridi took the ball for Pakistan, and though it wasn't easy for England either, Morgan and Buttler saw the job through. The matches got closer and closer, but England had come away with a 3-0 win.

And so, England have cause to be optimistic for the World Twenty20. An inexperienced group of players have impressed in both the Twenty20 and ODI games in new conditions for many, and though England still might not know their best eleven yet, they'll know more about what their players can do on this stage. It might be too soon to think that they have a chance come March, but the signs are there that this is a team on the rise, and there's certainly something to look forward to in the future.

Disappointments and what ifs

I have mixed feelings about this series, and the 2-0 scoreline. There is, of course, disappointment: the missed opportunities, the what ifs, and the general frustration that the same old problems seem always to be repeating themselves. And yet there's also a part of me who has kept up the optimism, the ‘look for the positives' spiel so often churned out to the media even when, on the face of it, things look pretty bad. This has been a series which I expected England to lose, and which they duly did, yet it wasn't a loss that felt quite as bad as those that have come before.

Of course, the overriding sense is one of disappointment. England were outplayed in all departments; Pakistan with a batting lineup where you felt someone would always get the runs, and a bowling attack always capable of causing England great difficulty. Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, and Younis Khan all hit centuries and scored over 300 runs; whilst Shoaib Malik scored 245 in the first game. Malik also took eleven wickets and topped the bowling averages; Yasir Shah was the leading wicket taker in the series with 15, despite missing the first match; Wahab Riaz could be destructive; Imran Khan somewhat unsung, but effective; and Zulfiqar Babar helping build the pressure by bowling maiden, after maiden, after maiden. In contrast, for England it was tough to see where the runs were coming from beyond Cook and Root, and when they bowled the spinners rarely threatened on the same level as the pacemen - far from ideal in conditions like these. Spin proved a lethal weapon so often for Pakistan, but England's spinners could never let the pressure build. Admittedly the Pakistan batsmen are much superior players of both spin bowling and the conditions, and targeted the spinners, but England struggled for consistency and accuracy. The fast bowlers were excellent, but were left with too much work to do.

It's frustrating, because a lot of the time it seems to be the same old problems coming up again. Whilst I am a fan of both Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, it's clear that they are still a work in progress. England should stick with them, but this series showed that they really will have to learn fast. It's clear that both can be very dangerous on their day: just think of Rashid on the last day of the first test, or Moeen Ali against India last year. But those days have come too far apart, and in between them they haven't been able to at least contain. There's also the batting line up, and that middle order that hasn't really fired all year. Ian Bell has shown some fight this series, but he can't have many more chances left. His duck in the second innings was his ninth score of 0 or 1 this year. Together in that innings numbers 3 to 7 scored just eight runs, three making ducks, and all falling to spin. Several times the batsmen have made a start, got to about forty runs, and then got out. Even Root made three fifties and no centuries. They're just not capitalising. And still England are no closer to deciding who should open the batting.

But still somewhere in there, are the good things. Like how they came so close to winning in Abu Dhabi, denied by the fading light. How England batted long in that game to ground Pakistan down, and to even put themselves in with a chance of winning through a brilliant spell of bowling from Adil Rashid. And how they nearly pulled off the impossible to save the second test, Rashid again showing great character with the bat, him and Mark Wood laying down the anchor. It proved merely to delay the inevitable, but it was still an effort to be proud of. There were the performances of the pace bowlers throughout: Anderson having a sensational record of 13 wickets at 15.61; Mark Wood having his best match yet in Dubai; Stokes taking wickets in Abu Dhabi; and Broad finally coming to the party in Sharjah. There was nothing easy about the conditions they bowled in, but they did the task admirably.

More than anything, it's a series that leaves England with a lot of what ifs. What if Cook had managed to win a toss, and England had the chance to bat first? What if the sun had set just a few overs later in Abu Dhabi, and they weren't left just 25 runs short? What if Finn didn't have to go home injured, and there was an opportunity to rotate with Wood? Instead Wood, too, now finds himself on a plane home, missing the limited overs matches with injury. What if Stokes hadn't been injured during the final test? England would have been able to better manage the workloads of Anderson and Broad, and perhaps he might have helped the lead extend beyond 72. What if the fielders had clung on to their catches, like Ian Bell dropping both Mohammad Hafeez and Asad Shafiq in Abu Dhabi? What if Broad hadn't overstepped when he got Shoaib Malik in the same innings? What if Bairstow had taken that stumping of Hafeez in Sharjah?

But that was the difference. Pakistan took their chances when they came; England were left with a bunch of missed opportunities and what ifs. Pakistan stepped up when it mattered, like when Wahab Riaz brought England's downfall on the third morning in Dubai, or how the spinners struck them down on the third morning in Sharjah. There would always be a batsmen to stand up and do the job for Pakistan, barring that dramatic final day of the first match. At times it felt like one of that middle order of Younis Khan, Misbah, and Asad Shafiq would always be batting, not giving anything to the English bowlers. In the final test it was Mohammad Hafeez, scoring 151 to take Pakistan clear of the danger, and with Azhar Ali sharing their only century stand for the first wicket. The runs were on the board, and then the spinners could have their fun.

England are left with a lot to do to improve. Next they head to South Africa, only the team ranked number one in the world. It's a place that should suit them better - and especially the pace bowlers - but where the batsmen will face a stern test from the opposition quicks, particularly Dale Steyn. It will be a tough ask for a batting lineup that is still not firing, and who have been shown to struggle against genuine pace before; and it will be a tough place to try and bed in the next opening partner for Alastair Cook (likely to be Alex Hales). The winter rolls on.

A burst of life

Test cricket can, at times, be rather ridiculous. Suddenly, as the sun set in Abu Dhabi, England were on the charge, seeking a dramatic win almost out of nowhere. Adil Rashid had become a star with a five wicket haul in his first game, after in the first innings recording the worst bowling figures by a debutant. England were chasing down a total of 99 runs, their opponent not overs, but the light and the time. Four days of cricket petering out into a draw, and suddenly a finish that left all England supporters wishing there had just been that little bit more.

Really, it hadn't been a great match up until those final sessions. It's not taking anything away from the performances of the players, it's just that it was hard to play any thrilling cricket on a surface like that. There were some brilliant individual performances, innings of patience and endurance from Shoaib Malik (245) and Alastair Cook (263), bedrocks of two giant team scores. The bowlers did all they could, but there was very little they could really do. Spinners bowled and bowled with so little reward - Zulfiqar Babar bowling 72 overs in England's first innings for just one wicket, coming in his 69th; while Malik was the first spinner to take a wicket in the match, in the 185th over of England's innings. 

But on the fifth day, the pitch had started to spin. Anderson took two wickets in the third over of Pakistan's second innings, and then there was an outside chance that England could snatch victory. They had got themselves into the game the only way they could: grind out another huge score with the bat to take the lead, and then take a couple of early wickets to put the pressure on the opposition. Hafeez was run out, taking a single to Ben Stokes. And then Adil Rashid took his first test wicket, and they kept coming after that. He was getting drift in the air, and turn on the pitch. His final three wickets were almost carbon copies: edges to James Anderson at first slip, the first of the three an excellent low, one-handed take. Moeen Ali was taking wickets at the other end too, and perhaps the most important - the captain Misbah, bowled when foolishly trying to hit him down the ground. England's spin twins were doing their job, bowling out the opposition on a fifth day pitch.

It's hard to describe just how delighted I am for Adil Rashid. I've often been disappointed by the way England have handled him, from his first steps around the set-up to even this year. Often he went on tours as part of a learning experience, not expected to play, when he would perhaps have been better served just playing somewhere, learning his game by bowling and bowling. There was this year in the Caribbean, when he should have played whilst Moeen Ali was struggling for fitness, just not trusted by coach or captain. Things have changed with Trevor Bayliss, someone who has been an advocate of Rashid straight away. And Cook, too, made a statement with his actions - Rashid was brought on ahead of Moeen Ali, a show of confidence and faith in Rashid that he seemed to lack before. Rashid has improved as well: where before his mentality has often been a concern, in this match he showed a lot of character to come back with such results after having a horrible first outing. So often he's been teetering on the edge of the England team, not quite convincing enough to stake a full claim, but now he has shown he can really compete at this level. 

England had 99 runs to chase in around twenty overs, but with the light the issue most pressing. The batting order was reshuffled, in coming Jos Buttler to open with Moeen Ali, Root up to three, Stokes up to four. The pinch hitters though couldn't quite come off. Misbah made the right move of opening with spin - taking all the pace off the ball and making it difficult to get it away to the boundary. With no fielding restrictions, the boundaries could be covered with ease; only those perfectly timed and perfectly placed could make it there. Despite 33* from Joe Root, and a partnership with Jonny Bairstow that included a 17-run over off Wahab Riaz and a lot of very hard running, England just couldn't quite get there in time. 

A draw felt frustrating, an end with an if only. But after Pakistan racked up 500 in their first innings, it would have been the best result I could have hoped for. After England responded with their own total, it was the only result I could have seen coming. And at the start of the match, it was a result I would certainly have been happy with. They might not have snatched that win in the end, but to get themselves in with that chance was an achievement in itself. The next match rolls around quickly, starting on Thursday in Dubai. England can go with their heads held high. 

Test and toil

It would be fair to say that this match hasn't been the most thrilling example of test cricket. It has been a grind: a test of players' perseverance in the heat, of bowlers who toil away on a pitch with so little in it for both pace bowlers and spinners. Already, Pakistan have amassed a giant total: 523/8, spearheaded by 245 from Shoaib Malik, playing his first test for five years. Only cramp and fatigue could beat him, the hours at the crease finally taking their toll. Alongside Asad Shafiq (107) and Mohammad Hafeez (95) the damage was done, the batsmen in for the long haul while the opposition were left to be punished in the sun.

England though are setting themselves up for a similar response. So often the pressure of the scoreboard can see a side instantly crumble when they get their turn with the bat, the psychological effect of a large total and fatigue from so many overs in the field taking their effect. So far, at least, it has not been the case. England's new opening pair were successful on their first outing, making a rare century stand on the first attempt. Moeen might not have been as fluent as he can be - but bowling thirty overs will do that for you. The captain though led the way, playing a typical, calm, Alastair Cook innings - and just like Shoaib Malik, looking in it for the long haul. Rarely was he in any trouble, making his way to 168* at the end of day three. On the way, he passed 1000 runs for the calendar year as well. The troubles of the previous two years look firmly in the past.

For Ian Bell though, it felt like his problems were only continuing. Already on the first day he had dropped two catches - drops that proved highly costly, being of Hafeez and Shafiq. Somewhere in the background, the questions and rumours about his future in the side were getting louder. Lingering as well were the memories of the 2012 tour, where Bell made just 51 runs in six innings. The innings was a battle. The scoring rate was slow as he struggled to find his method of scoring runs against the spinner. Against Zulfiqar Babar, his strike rate was just eleven. But gradually things did improve. He found a way to rotate the strike, and in one innings managed to beat his total from 2012 - 63 runs, before falling to Wahab Riaz at the end of the day. His best form might still be far away, but this innings should have provided an important psychological boost.

For England's bowlers though, it was nothing but hard work. Ben Stokes did eventually end up with the very respectable figures of 4/57, though they mostly fell towards the end of the innings as a declaration approached (and the less said about his over of off-spin, the better). All the wickets fell to pace, as well as the two dropped catches and another almost-wicket, denied as Broad's foot overstepped the line. It's not the first time England have been denied by a no-ball this year, and it's a frustrating issue: firstly, as the umpires aren't calling many of the no-balls being bowled - often just checking when the wicket falls; but mostly because England are overstepping that line too often. The umpires should definitely do more, but it's an issue the bowlers need to resolve the most - because they are the ones who get punished.

But for the spinners, there was no reward at all. Adil Rashid finally made his test debut, a debut I have long been shouting for, but it hasn't been one to remember at all. With 0/163, Rashid is now the holder of a very unwanted record - the worst bowling figures by a test debutant. Bryce McGain, the fellow legspinner Rashid 'beat' on the list, never played another test - though Rashid will surely play the remainder of the series, and hopefully on pitches more receptive to any sort of bowling. When it all goes right, he provides a real threat - a valuable asset to a bowling attack, adding that element of mystery. As it was, Pakistan were comfortable. Rashid went at 4.79 an over, with no maidens, and Moeen Ali went at 4.03 with just two; Pakistan could not be contained. Maybe it might have gone better for Rashid had he been given that opportunity in the Caribbean at the start of the year; certainly it still looks like a missed chance, with him now making his debut on a pitch where any bowler would suffer. For now his debut is another chapter in the book of England's struggles with legspinners.

Really though, no bowler would be able to find much success on a pitch like this. While I still wouldn't rule out a dramatic England collapse (it is something they excel at, after all), the most likely result in two days time looks to be a draw. The bowlers are doing an admirable job keeping up the hard work - a special mention must also go to Wahab Riaz, who looked capable of making something happen if sometimes erratic. But right now there's little more they can do than keep up the hard work.