England captain Andrew Strauss on Monday admitted that batting had let down his side after their 71-run loss to Pakistan in the third and final Test match in Dubai.
Published: Feb 06, 2012, 11:13 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 06, 2012, 11:13 PM (IST)
England were beaten 3-0 by Pakistan in their first away series after becoming world No. 1 in Tests © Getty Images
Dubai: Feb 6, 2012
England captain Andrew Strauss on Monday admitted that batting had let down his side after their 71-run loss to Pakistan in the third and final Test match in Dubai.
“We didn’t bat well in all three Tests, to be honest with ourselves. If you keep getting out for 140 or 150 then you are not going to win many Test matches,” said Strauss, lamenting the first Test defeat by 10 wickets.
Pakistan won the second by 72 runs in Abu Dhabi.
“There are obviously some regrets from the batsmen about the way we played their spinners, more regrets particularly I think how we played in the first Test because that set the tone for the rest of the series.”
Strauss praised Pakistan, especially their spinners Saeed Ajmal who took 24 wickets in the series and Abdul Rehman who finished with 18.
“You need to give Pakistan huge amount of credit because their two spinners were very impressive and made life difficult for ourselves and when we did get in front of them in Tests they were able to wrest the initiative back in their favour,” said Strauss.
Strauss denied his team ever took Pakistan lightly.
“We never underestimated Pakistan, they have played lot of good cricket in the last 12-18 months, we knew that their spinners were good enough and they played outstandingly, they are well led and very tight and cohesive unit and that’s important for a side to play consistently.” (AFP)
