Winning the Lottery(-worma)

..called Shahid Afridi. That's what it is with him, isn't it. He came when Pak were looking to regroup, and what does he do? Tonk three boundaries of the first four balls he faced :-)

Afridi is well known for his big hitting, of course, but the ferocity of his onslaught surprised everyone because Pakistan's priority was to steadily and patiently bat England out of the game.

This from Jonathan Agnew's report for the day. No doubt his game in fun to watch, but it makes better entertainment when built on a platform. As it was today, after that wonderful partnership between Mohd Yousuf and Inzy.

His calm and resolute partnership of 128 with Yousuf provided the perfect platform for Afridi to launch his attack. Dancing to the crease without a care in the world, he treated all of the English bowlers with disdain and contempt; he scored 12 runs in his first four balls, and raced uninhibitedly to fifty from 46 balls

This from Will's bulletin on cricinfo.
But what of Yousuf himself? Played with such indiscretion last time around that Inzy had to officially come to his defence, and then he comes up with this gem today! And that too prematurely ended by a dubious decision, caught off Bell

Yousuf airily drove back to Bell, who dived low and took a fine catch - or, at least, it appeared to be. The replay proved inconclusive.

Well, to me he looked not-out, the catch not clean. But the bigger point is, it wasn't even referred to the t.v umpire! Talk of using more technology. His innings is the centerpiece of Osman's review of the day at cricinfo, and it does seem that his approach at Multan hasn't gone un-noticed, behind the scenes as well

Somewhere between Multan and Faisalabad, a paisa seems to have dropped. Mohammad Yousuf's first 57 minutes at the crease today - from three minutes past eleven till lunch - fetched him less runs than his 19-minute stay in the second innings at Multan. Pressure here had two sources; not only were Pakistan teetering as they were in Multan, Yousuf's own performance was under enhanced scrutiny. Yet as a template to start an innings under such circumstances, it was as exemplary as it has been rare, and one that should be referred to through his career

Fletcher can go ahead and praise his bowlers for working hard on a flat track, but if they don't control this pair in the first hour tomorrow, or if they let Pak pass 400 in the innings, they may as well say goodbye to that series win.

"But credit to the bowlers, they tried very hard on a flat wicket." "At one stage we got three wickets for a reasonably low score. We could have got through them but we didn't and we still have a lot of work to do."

And here's Andrew Miller's view from the English side...he give due importance to that slip from Vaughan when he spilled an easy chance off Afridi at 34.

Vaughan was in more or less the same position that Kevin Pietersen had been occupying when he spilled his infamous chance off Michael Clarke at Lord's last summer. And then, as now, the upshot was a bout of intense pyrotechnics. "It's unfortunate, but now and again a catch will go down," said Duncan Fletcher afterwards, as he attempted to put a brave face on a difficult day. But there was no escaping the significance of Vaughan's slip. At 245 for 5, England would have been a new-ball burst away from exposing the Pakistani tail. At 300 for 4, on the other hand, with Afridi going like the clappers, the more likely scenario was that the new ball itself would burst.

And also touches on the ineffectiveness of the English spinners.

Today Giles was carted for four sixes in his first eight overs - and that was before Afridi had even put his whites on. Given the murmurings about the hip condition that may force him to miss the one-day series, Giles's inability to hold up an end is a concern for England. "The ball's hardly spun, even Shane [sic] Udal has struggled to spin it," added Fletcher afterwards. It is debatable whether Kaneria will find the same problems.

Although IMO this was always on the cards when their pacers were not at their best.

Update: Couldn't resist this one...from Osman's take on Afridi's game today..

With tongue wedged firmly in cheek, another asked whether he can ever play defensively to which he replied, earnestly, no. "Even if someone was to offer you a million dollars?" A little pause, a smile, then, "maybe." But even then, implied the smile, you wouldn't bet on it.