Cabinet96
Global Moderator
Rarely reverses in the UAE from what I've seen, which is probably the main thing which makes it so different to a lot of the subcontinent. Outfield surprisingly lush for what is apparently the driest ground (in terms of annual rainfall) in the world. Guess the fact that they don't play much cricket there means there aren't tons of practice strips either. As a result of this it's usually been the seam bowlers to have profited more; think Morkel over Steyn, Broad over Anderson and in this test, Irfan over Junaid. It's probably more likely to be the other way around in India or Sri Lanka, and I think you'd find if you looked at their records that this is the case, certainly is with the South African and English duos.
Robin Peterson is, quite frankly, not good enough. I didn't see much of him today, but I doubt he was getting that much turn. I'd like to see him on that rev counter thing, as I have a feeling it wouldn't be flattering. He just seems to sort of roll his fingers down the ball, without using that much hip or front arm. He's not even that accurate. He's an okay one day spinner, and does a job in South Africa, especially as he can bat. But honestly, if South Africa want to win regular tests in Asia I think they're better off with Tahir, given that they have four great seamers and a serviceable second spinner.
Happy for Pakistan though. Might reflect better on England's last trip to the UAE if they can scrap a surprise
