Pakistan vs England: Dubai Test and ICC Test Championship

Pakistan vs England: Dubai Test and ICC Test Championship

KARACHI: Pakistan have defeated England in the three- match Test series with a match to spare and many of the cricket fans are calling the third and final Dubai Test a dead-rubber, but it’s still quite an important match for both the teams.

The third and final Test match starts from February 3, 2012 in Dubai where England’s number one Test ranking would be at stake while for Pakistan, victory in this match would bring them at a striking distance of the top test teams in the world.

The latest series victory over England is Pakistan’s seventh series victory in the 11 Test series the two teams have played since 1983-84 and the final Test starting from Friday is yet another important and high-profile match between the two bitter rivals.

England entered the deserts of United Arab Emirates flying high with the confidence of not only being the No. 1 Test team but also their recent bashing of India, the then World No. 1 Test team, in an absolute performance had turned them into hot-favorites against a Pakistani side which not many analysts had fancied even for a drawn series.

However, the tables turned in the first test match and ever since Saeed Ajmal produced that match winning 10-wicket haul, things became miserable for English batsmen who forgot the ways to handle spin bowling completely in the second test where Abdur Rehman emerged as the hero as Pakistan successfully defended a meager 145-run target on the fourth day of the Abu Dhabi Test.

Now, the equation is quite simple for England. They must win the last Test if they want to shut out any chances for South Africa to dethrone them as the Number 1 Test Team in the world.

With the ICC top Test ranking, a whopping $175,000 prize is also at stake for the Englishmen if they fail to end as the number one Test team by cut-off date of April 1, 2012 for the ICC Test Championship.

What’s At Stake for England in Dubai?

England are currently struggling to find their feet against swirling deliveries by all the three Pakistani spin bowlers but in case they manage to sneak a victory in Dubai Test, then they would surge to 120 rating points which would ensure that even if South Africa clean-sweep New Zealand in the three-match Test series, they would remain the prize winners on April 1, 2012.

South Africa will be starting their tour to New Zealand from March 7 till March 27, 2012 where they will take on the BlackCaps in three Test matches and let’s be frank, it would not be a walk in the park for the Proteas against the home side which has recently hammered Zimbabwe in the lone Test match by bowling them out twice in less than a day.

However, England would love to be in a situation where they don’t have to worry about the outcome of any other series, and for that their batsmen will have to find a way to handle dangerous looking and threatening Pakistani finger-spinners.

On the other hand, if Pakistan continue to ride on the momentum and complete the whitewash against the world’s best Test team then the situation may turn negative for the England as in such a case South Africa will have a valid chance of clinching the top Test spot and winning the $175,000 prize.

Pakistan would definitely go for the kill in the final test and if they manage to complete the whitewash, then it would leave England on 118 ratings points, which means if South Africa clean-sweep New Zealand then they would surpass England by a rating point.

Things don’t look good for England even if they manage to sneak a draw in Dubai as it would leave both England and South Africa on the same ratings points, but it would again be South Africa who would be the eventual winners as they will have a 0.01 ratings points advantage over the Poms.

Incentives for Pakistan in Dubai

Pakistan are playing the best brand of cricket these days as they have the perfect combination of experience and youth at the center to deliver the goods, and yes they have a great incentive if they win the Dubai Test and trounce England 3-0 in the series.

Pakistan currently have 99 ratings points in the ICC Test Championship table and a victory in the Dubai Test will propel them to 108 ratings points, which would be just three ratings points shy of both Australia and India who have just finished their Test series where Australia devastated the visitors by a 4-0 clean-sweep. India are still on the third position despite of receiving heavy pounding in Australia but only a fraction of point gives them the advantage over the Aussies.

If England win the Dubai Test, then Pakistan will manage to fetch only 6 points from the series but in case the Men in Green complete the series victory by a margin of 2-0 then they will get 8 ratings points and will end the series at 107 points, just four points away from Australia and India.

So, there is a lot to play for both the outfits in Dubai where cricket lovers will once again get to see the absorbing action of Test cricket as this would be England’s final chance to salvage some pride against the team they ridiculed for the off-the-field stuff in 2010.

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