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Articles from the Independent

11.20 A bad day looms for Pakistan already as Imran Farhat at slip
drops a straightforward edge offered by Eoin Morgan.

You couldn't get much that is more precisely half-formed than this Pakistan team that so recently beat the Australians and now awaits something close to evisceration by England.

When James Anderson was given out lbw to his first ball while batting yesterday, his 28th birthday was going downhill fast. He had shouldered arms to the accurate arch-seam bowling exponent, Mohammad Asif, which is like dispensing gifts to a player of his expertise.

Careers advisers might have been encouraged by events in the first Test here yesterday to suggest that seam bowling is a fit and rewarding job.

Anyone with a ticket for tomorrow's play here may have been prepared to argue otherwise while 12 wickets were falling in the space of 33 overs, but thank heavens for a bit of unpredictable bounce and conditions that encouraged swing bowling.

For the first time in years, a home Test series is in progress with a fit Steve Harmison not only not participating, but with nobody pressing his claims.

Still, some wonder why from time to time quite a number of us are so outraged
by the neglect of technological assistance for match officials.

Senior pakistan police officers have been heavily criticised in a report for being ill-prepared, poorly equipped and incompetent in their efforts to prevent a terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team bus last year.

There was a faint whiff of nostalgia in the air at the St Lawrence Ground yesterday where Kent and Essex continued their fierce battle to avoid the championship relegation places.

England wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter topped up the West Country county's overnight score to the tune of 73 in an impressive total of 517 in a must-win game in terms of Somerset's title aspirations.