SHARJAH // Mohammed Hafeez countered what he described as the most pronounced reverse swing he has seen in his career to guide Pakistan to the brink of a series win over England.
The opening batsman enjoyed some good fortune in making 151 as Pakistan set England an unlikely target on 284 to win the Sharjah Test and draw the three-match series.
He was given out on two, before being spared by a television review. He survived two close calls in the opening over of Day 4, bowled by Adil Rashid, when he was three runs short of his century.
First an lbw shout was rebuffed, then, two balls later, Jonny Bairstow missed a stumping. Stuart Broad also missed a return catch when Hafeez was on 113.
Given the amount of turn this pitch has provided since Day 1, England will regard their selection of three spinners to have been the correct decision. The slow bowlers have been found severely wanting, though.
Between them, Rashid, Moeen Ali and Samit Patel took seven for 423 in the match. By contrast, seamers James Anderson and Broad managed 11 for 136.
The success of the pacemen was partly due to unerring accuracy, and partly due to significant movement they produced from the old ball. “I’ve been playing international cricket for the past 13 years, and I haven’t faced that much reverse swing in my career,” Hafeez said.
“To be honest, I am very surprised to see that much reverse swing happening in the game.
“I watched a couple of the games when Wasim (Akram) and Waqar (Younis) used to do these things. Nowadays I think James Anderson and Stuart Broad got that.”
Hafeez said he and his colleagues have profited from a gameplan devised around going after the inexperienced spinners in the touring side.
“Their planning was right, because this track is giving more assistance to the spinner,” he said. “As a batting unit we didn’t allow them to adjust. We attacked them, and they didn’t bowl to the right area on a consistent level. Attacking them worked for us.”
From the evidence of the 18 overs they sent down in England’s reply in the evening session, Pakistan’s spin bowlers can be relied upon to provide a more sustained assault today than England’s did.
Shoaib Malik, the least heralded of the three Pakistan slow bowlers, dismissed Moeen Ali and Ian Bell, to make England’s task even harder.
Maybe the final throes of the Test will be instructive for the away side’s spinners.
“It’s a big learner,” Anderson said. “They’re bowling at batsmen who have grown up playing against spin, and some of their guys are experts at it.
“They’re going to take a lot from it. In international cricket you have to learn fast. If you don’t, you don’t stick around. They’ll have to learn fast if they’re going to improve and help us win next winter [when England tour Bangladesh and India].”
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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if you go
The flights
Fly direct to Kutaisi with Flydubai from Dh925 return, including taxes. The flight takes 3.5 hours. From there, Svaneti is a four-hour drive. The driving time from Tbilisi is eight hours.
The trip
The cost of the Svaneti trip is US$2,000 (Dh7,345) for 10 days, including food, guiding, accommodation and transfers from and to Tbilisi or Kutaisi. This summer the TCT is also offering a 5-day hike in Armenia for $1,200 (Dh4,407) per person. For further information, visit www.transcaucasiantrail.org/en/hike/
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If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.
The trip
The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.
The hotel
There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
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The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
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SQUADS
South Africa:
Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada
Coach: Ottis Gibson
Bangladesh:
Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Mustafizur Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed.
Coach: Chandika Hathurusingha
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
SPECS
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India Test squad
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Vijay, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur
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Barbie
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.