da apostebet： Marcus Trescothick hoped that the subcontinent would not be serving up anymore surprises for England’s cricketers, after an eventful second day’splay in the second Test at Faisalabad
da 888casino： Andrew Miller at Faisalabad21-Nov-2005
Marcus Trescothick trudges off for 48 © AFP
Marcus Trescothick hoped that the subcontinent would not be serving up anymore surprises for England’s cricketers, after an eventful second day’splay in the second Test at Faisalabad. By the close, England had inchedalong to 113 for 3 in reply to Pakistan’s first-innings total of 462, buttheir struggles had been overshadowed by controversy – involving bothumpires and players – and moreover, by a large explosion on the boundary’sedge.”You don’t expect things like that when you’re out in the middle,” saidTrescothick, who was on 41 when a blast ripped out the advertisinghoardings at midwicket and held up play for five minutes while England’ssecurity team ascertained that a gas cylinder had exploded. “My instantreaction was that it was something quite serious, and we were a bitworried for a while.”Trescothick, who was on 41 at the time, is no stranger to suchdistractions. At Rawalpindi on England’s last tour of Pakistan in 2000-01,he and Alec Stewart were affected by tear gas that had been fired onrioting fans outside the stadium. “Hopefully this is as bad as it gets,”he said. “It was a bit of a shock to the system, but fingers crossed thatnothing else bad happens.”England were already in some difficulty when the incident occurred, withTrescothick and Ian Bell regrouping after the loss of two early wickets.”We talked for a while afterwards and just took time to switch back on,”he explained. “It’s just like you would after a drinks break or interval.As much as you can, you’ve got to get your focus back as quickly aspossible, and get back into a routine at the crease.”England’s distractions didn’t end there, however, for no sooner had theyresumed than they were talking to the umpires about some mysterious damagesuffered by the bowlers’ footmarks. TV replays showed that Shahid Afridihad used the distraction to twist his studs into the pitch.”I can’t really judge on it too much at the moment,” said Trescothick,”but we showed the umpires straight away because they were on a goodlength, and it was up to them to judge it from there on. I have a goodidea how they might have been caused, and I think most people have seen iton camera.”Trescothick was eventually dismissed on 48, caught behind by Kamran Akmalwho swooped to complete the latest of a series of debatable low catchesthat have been a feature of this Test. But Trescothick, who himselfclaimed a similar catch to end Afridi’s innings earlier in the day, had noqualms about the decision.”With low catches you instantly have an idea about whether you’ve caughtit,” he said. “With mine, I got it in my fingers, and generally speaking,if you feel you’ve caught it, that’s fair enough. It’s all a part of thegame.”A less common part of the game, however, was the controversial run-outthat ended Inzamam-ul-Haq’s magnificent innings. Steve Harmison shied atthe stumps in his followthrough, Inzamam seemed to take evasive action,and after viewing the incident from several angles, the third umpire,Nadeem Ghauri, gave him out.”It’s an instant reaction from the bowler,” said Trescothick, “but sometimesthe batsman has taken a few steps down the pitch. I spoke to Darrell [Hair] andhe said he thought he might just have lifted his foot, but it’s the firsttime I’ve seen it referred to the third umpire while we’ve been fielding.”Amid all the excitement of the day, Trescothick’s thoughts while off thefield remain with his family, after his father-in-law was hospitalisedfollowing a fall from a ladder last Saturday. “I’ve got to remain focusedon my cricket,” he said. “Things aren’t too good at home but they areimproving which is good news. I’ve been in good form, so I can’t afford todwell on what’s happened. I’m obviously concerned and get regular updates,but once I step over the rope, just got to focus as much as I can.”
