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Our team lost the Test series against England at home and met with the same fate at Lord's thus conceding advantage to them in different environments. What they achieved signified professional touch. Our side also has the capacity to win provided it concentrates on the game.

Here I will specially mention the role of Wasim Akram who knows the Old Trafford ground as well as the palm of his left hand. While he could not get the better of the England batsmen at home let us hope he does so at his second home. Best of luck to our boys.

After the Lord's defeat the media was awash with a flow of criticism. Whenever there is reverse even those who are not even conversant with the ABC of cricket pose as experts. No one has come up with any positive suggestion. If the Lord's setback is seen in perspective I think the following emerge:

Firstly giving England the batting after winning the toss. It is indeed rare to get such a perfect batting wicket at this time of the season where our batsmen committed virtual hara-kiri except Azhar Mahmood in the first innings who faced an awkward lifter. Others almost offered catching practice to opponents in the slips or lost wickets by cross bat strokes against well pitched deliveries.

Getting such a pitch in early at Lord's is like the one in Faisalabad. The wicket had no life with an anemic surface on a lush green ground tailor-made for batting. No excuses are acceptable from a professional least of all from one who played county cricket for more than a decade.

The second major mistake of the present Pakistan side was dropping of Saqlain Mushtaq - a blatant blunder. Here the tour selection committee was unanimously wrong. By dropping Robert Croft the Englishmen bowled a sort of googly to trap our selectors in the opposite camp.

There is no comparison between Saqlain and Croft - an obvious factor missed by our selectors on the field. Our manager and coach - the latter no more than an ordinary trainer have miserably failed on all fronts. The theory that a track prepared for Muttiah Muralitharan is ideal for two spinners in our side is absurd. England's ground men can alter the character of the pitch if they wish.

Saleem Elahi, in my view, is the best choice for on opener with Saeed Anwar from amongst the present lot. The argument that he cannot cope with a moving ball and has faulty footwork is an after thought by the selectors who should have been aware of the swinging prospects in England during this time of the season. His record in domestic cricket and against Derbyshire is good enough. Sacrificing Abdur Razzaq - a dependable one down player - at the altar of experiments and exposing him to further positional changes will be suicidal.

In fact we have not been able to find a dependable No. 3 batsman since Zaheer Abbas. This is a slot for specialists. Remember Sir Vivian Richards played at this vital position for West Indies. I think Inzamam at the moment is the best man to fill this void. Then Youhanna and Younus beef up the middle. It is to be further strengthened by Mohammad Wasim or Faisal who may be brought in as these two have the staying capacity, an essential pre-requisite for the top half.

If the first five batsmen failed to score the side has no right to stake a claim for success. The team must set a reasonable score for its bowlers to take up the challenge. An aggregate of 350 or 400 is the one to look for. Saqlain's induction is a must. Who faces the knife as a result of this change is a real test for the tour selection committee. The PCB as a scapegoat is not a plausible excuse. I wish Pakistan the very best in the second Test at least to save the series.

© Dawn