Positive omens for England ahead of Ashes

Strauss and Trott wrap up the Test against Pakistan and a sixth straight Test win just like they did when the former made his debut.

Andrew Strauss of England hits out during day four of the second Test against Pakistan at Edgbaston.

When Andrew Strauss made his eye-catching arrival in international cricket six years ago, he was on the winning side in his first eight Test matches. The summer of 2004 was a famous one for English cricket, as the national team whitewashed New Zealand then West Indies in successive Test series. Most observers have probably not noticed that they are in the midst a similarly successful run at present. But Strauss, now the captain, seems keen to emphasise the point. "This is six Test wins in a row now," he said in the TV interview after hitting the winning runs in another victory stroll against Pakistan at Edgbaston yesterday. Any England supporters looking for positive omens ahead of this winter's Ashes tour will be taking heed. The glorious summer of 2004 was the precursor for England's two finest achievements in recent times, as they went on to claim a series win in South Africa that winter, then regain the Ashes the following summer. However, their achievements this time around have only met rather muted acclaim, by comparison. Four victories over Bangladesh failed to capture the imagination, while the first half of the series against Pakistan has been memorable mainly for the chaos in the touring camp.

Even the home supporters revelled in the touring team's revival at Edgbaston, which was brought about by two players, Zulqarnain Haider and Saeed Ajmal, who were not even expected to feature in this series. In the face of unexpectedly dogged resistance, England only muddled through the final sessions of their nine-wicket win in Birmingham. It seemed appropriate that the winning runs arrived via an ungainly inside-edge off the bat of Strauss. "It was a timely reminder for us that to win a Test match you do have to work hard," he said. If England are to retain the Ashes during this winter's tour of Australia, it is certain Graeme Swann will have a crucial role to play. The off-spinner has had a watching brief for much of the past fortnight, as England's seam bowlers have held sway over the Pakistan batsmen. "I was more than happy with the way it panned out at Trent Bridge [where England won the first Test a week earlier], because I only live two minutes down the road so it made it the laziest week of my professional life," Swann said, after accepting the man-of-the-match award.

Strauss deemed Swann's contribution of six wickets for 65 from a mammoth stint of 37 overs as "outstanding". "When it is spinning, there are not that many better out there," he added. Pakistan are set to undergo yet another facelift ahead of the next Test at The Oval. The workload of four Tests inside six weeks has taken its toll, and they will be without Umar Gul, the seam bowler who was a victim of a hamstring injury, for the third Test. Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistan's most prolific batsman, who cut a frustrated figure beyond the boundary line in this match, is likely to be restored to the misfiring middle-order. Yousuf had just missed out on playing Birmingham after a mad dash to get there.

He had been unable to practise back at home because of the heavy rainfall in Lahore. Having had a tempestuous six months away from the game already, time in the nets would have come in handy. A visa problem delayed his arrival in the UK, then when he did eventually meet up with his teammates, they all decided it would probably be best if he sat this one out. "He did not want to go straight in, he wanted some time to get in the groove," Salman Butt, Pakistan's captain, said. Yousuf will have to make an immediate return to his best if Pakistan are to stand a realistic chance of halving the series by winning the remaining Tests at The Oval and Lord's. [e-mail]

Pakistan 72 England 251 Pakistan second innings (291-9 overnight): Umar Gul not out 13 Mohammad Asif c Pietersen b Broad 14 Extras: (b-16, lb-14) 30 Total: (all out; 117.5 overs) 296 Bowling: Anderson 28-13-62-1, Broad 28.5-8-66-2, Finn 16-5-57-1, Swann 37-20-65-6, Collingwood 7-2-14-0, Pietersen 1-0-2-0. England (second innings): Andrew Strauss not out 53 Alastair Cook b Mohammad Amir 4 Jonathan Trott not out 53 Extras: (4-b) 8 Total: (one wicket; 36.3 overs) 118 Fall of wicket: 1-7 Bowling: Amir 11-1-31-1, Asif 6-0-20-0, Ajmal 14.3-1-42-0, Malik 5-0-20-0.