England and Pakistan in crucial encounter

CAPE TOWN-After its initial loss against Australia, each of its remaining four fixtures is a key game for Pakistan. They have to win them all to stay in the hunt for a spot in the next, Super Sixes round. For England, Pakistan's opponents in Saturday's day and night game, things are even tighter for comfort.

Not in the best of spirits, with the Zimbabwe controversy and the resulting acrimony doing their cause no good, and carrying too many walking-wounded in their ranks, England have beaten both the minnows and forfeited their tie against Zimbabwe in this 'Group of Death'. So, the Pakistan fixture is a moment of reckoning for them. Win and they live to fight another day; lose and their campaign is more or less over.

Technically they would still have a slight chance, but with Pakistan, India and Zimbabwe in the equation for the two remaining Super Sixes slots with Australia in the lead, the challenge for England from a loss here would not just be steep, it would fall in the realm of impossible, for they would have to beat both Australia and India for a comeback.

And with the margin of error being truly non-existent for both sides, it goes without saying that the tie is going to be an extremely well-contested one.

Pakistan for its part, as Waqar Younis said in the pre-match briefing here at Newlands, is not just keen to survive, they were focused to win and gain points, as points are essential to carry them to the Super Sixes but "also come handy for qualification to the next knock-out round, the semis".

Pakistan has an edge over England in terms of record, as they have not lost a World Cup game to the latter since 1983 - winning five on the trot in the meanwhile, including the 1992 World Cup final. And in their last meeting in an event, the NatWest Trophy in England in 2001, Pakistan blanked them out in all three matches.

"Yes, we know England well, and are aware of what it takes to beat them. We just want to play to our potential", said Waqar, meaning thereby that if Pakistan just does that, it would be enough for them to prevail over their opponents.

That said, both sides have their own fair share of problems. The England captain, Nasser Hussain, who sat out the unconvincing win over Namibia, is still not 100 per cent. Suffering from soft tissue damage around his neck, he ventured out for a spell at the nets but only to soon withdraw. Ian Blackwell and Ashley Giles too have been suffering from a twisted back and tonsillitis.

All three, the England coach Duncan Fletcher said in the customary pre-match press conference, were better, but a final decision on whether they would take the field or not would be taken on the morning of the match.

Fletcher conceded that Pakistan remain a threat, not just to England but to any side in the world. He singled out Akram and Saqlain as potential match-winners. Perhaps he deliberately ignored mentioning Shoaib, but he too along with Akram and Saqlain was likely to cause a few nightmares of his own to English batsmen.

Pakistan's bowling generally remains in fine fettle, and quite capable of blowing away England. "We're giving Shoaib the new ball, because with his pace he could get us early wickets, and Wasim is bowling beautifully well," said Waqar. "Our only weak showing so far was against Australia in the middle overs, and that cost us the game. I believe Saqlain can play a role here", said he.

But it is the batting and not bowling which is causing Pakistan management a great deal of discomfiture. Having already played out a different set of openers in two matches, and still unsatisfied with the results, the one-down position too remains unsettled. But the mother of all worries is the form, or the absolute lack of it, of Inzamam-ul-Haq. Quite inexplicably, he is woefully out of touch. On the eve of team's departure for the World Cup, he had promised that to bolster the frailty in the batting, he would be willing to bat a notch higher, at number three.

That promise remains unfulfilled, and Pakistan has been worse off due to it. If Inzamam walks to the middle at one-down, it could serve Pakistan in good stead in more ways than one. Firstly, he could hope to have the time to play himself back into form. Secondly, if he fires, it could stem the rot in the middle order, which has not made a substantive contribution in any of their two matches so far, leaving it only for the late order to give respectability, and not added impetus, to the total.

But Waqar dispelled any likelihood of Inzamam playing at one-down: "He is comfortable at number four; the team also requires him to bat there".

Toss, as Waqar Younis mentioned, would be a vital factor. "I'm sure whosoever wins would bat first and try and put runs on the board", said he, adding, "Since both our teams are struggling for form in batting, I hope it would be our bowling which would make the difference".

With no fitness problems, the Pakistan management would be hoping that the anxiety regarding the batting takes care of itself in this encounter.

Going into the match, Pakistan does have an edge over England - in terms of morale, fitness, resources etc. They only need to make sure that they maintain a high level of intensity, and fire on all cylinders.