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| November 9, 2005 | Wednesday | Shawwal 6, 1426 |
Fletcher remains calm despite England’s form
LAHORE, Nov 8: Coach Duncan Fletcher refused to show any sign of concern over England’s form for the first Test against Pakistan after they lost a three-day tour match to a Pakistan ‘A’ side by six wickets on Tuesday.
“It is not a big deal, we are a side starting out on a difficult tour,” he said. “It has happened before to us and I am confident the players will lift themselves for the Tests.”
Fletcher pointed out that earlier this year England lost to an ‘A’ team in South Africa before going on to win the Test series in comfortable fashion.
“What happened here is somewhat similar to what happened in South Africa,” he said. “But we went out and played very good cricket.
“We have the quality players who can do it again and they realise how important Test cricket is and they will play the cricket they are capable of.”
England have struggled with their batting in the first tour matches in Pakistan.
Although they won the opening three-dayer in Rawalpindi, they produced disappointing totals of 256 for nine and 112. In the second match, they were bowled out for 126 and 256.
Opener Marcus Trescothick is the only batsman to have reached three figures on tour, scoring 124 on the first day in Pindi.
Middle-order batsman Kevin Pietersen, who played a major role in England’s Ashes series triumph earlier this year, has been a notable failure in Pakistan with just 16 runs in four innings.
Fletcher, however, played down any panic over England’s batting.—Reuters
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