ENGLAND VS PAKISTAN: 3rd Test Analysis

How bad was the light on day two in Southampton? Well, it wasn't perfect.  Clouds hung around the Ageas Bowl all day and floodlights were on all time. But two balls before they came off, Mohammad Rizwan charged down the wicket to a fast bowler and connected the shot. Now with the poor forecast showing an early finish to the day, it might have made sense to play as much cricket as possible once the resumption happened. Instead, after an hour of cricket, we had a 40-minute lunch break. Why? Well, that's the way it's always been. At present, the game is run by people who have forgotten what it's like to pay to watch cricket. Who have forgotten what it's like to buy a ticket and buy Tv subscriptions for the thrill of watching the game?  Who will tolerate these delays and will not pursue other leisure options instead? Spectators are treated as a bare necessary evil.  This need to change after all cricket was meant to be a spectator sport, after all. Now after addressing the "Elephant in the Room", let's take a moment to applaud the ECB for organising cricket in this pandemic and Pakistani players, who travelled all the way to take part at a time when it's better to be home quarantined than be on the ground. We have been blessed with an amazing level of test cricket and here we are approaching the sixth test of this strange season. Pakistan, who dominated most of the first test is looking for a win to maintain their strong record against England, they have not lost a test series since 2010. England just needs to avoid defeat to claim their second series victory of the summer but they still want to win given the World Test Championship points on offer.

Team Analysis

ENGLAND - While England batting lineup with remain the same, they might give Mark Wood an outing, who has not played since the first test against West Indies. Jofra Archer can also come in contention. England, you see are spoilt for choices and have plenty to choose from. Dom Bess could be the one to go as the forecast is not suitable for his off-spin.

Predicted XI : RORY BURNS, DOM SIBLEY, ZAK CRAWLEY, JOE ROOT (c), OLLIE POPE, JOS BUTLER (wk), CHRIS WOAKES, MARK WOOD, JOFRA ARCHER / SAM CURRAN, STUART BROAD, JAMES ANDERSON.

PAKISTAN - Given the forecast, it is unlikely that two spinners will be required so Fawad Alam is set to retain his place. 

Predicted XI : Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Mohd. Rizwan, Yasir Shah, Mohd. Abbas, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah.

DATE - 21st August to 25th August 2020

WHERE - Ageas Bowl, Southampton

TIME - 3.30 PM IST