Pakistan beat us fair and square: Flower

England coach Andy Flower said on Sunday Pakistan's series-clinching Test win would be a huge boost to the country, but called on his team to show their mettle on subsequent matches in the subcontinent.

Pakistan thumped England by 72 runs in the second Test here on Saturday, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. They won the first Test by ten wickets in Dubai. The third and final Test begins in Dubai from February 3.

Under Flower England had been unbeaten in their last nine Test series, which saw them rise to number one in rankings last year. But after being set a tricky 145-run target to win on Saturday, England were dismissed for a paltry 72 runs as Pakistan's spin bowlers came to the fore.

"We realise that we haven't been very skillful in dealing with that type of cricket. In saying that, it's also right to praise the Pakistan team for what they have done. They beat us fair and square," said Flower.

"They have beaten us properly in two matches. They have fought hard and worked hard at their game and in a way I'm very happy for them. It's good for their cricket and it's good for their country."

Flower, a former Zimbabwean batsman, said defeats were a 'wake-up' call for England. "It was a wake-up call no one wanted to get. Not to that degree. But, yes it is," said Flower.

"Yesterday (Saturday) was very poor. The three days preceding that were pretty good. We put ourselves in a good position where we could have won the Test but then performed very badly with the bat to lose it.

"We didn't put any pressure on their bowlers in the second innings. We allowed them to bowl and create pressure. In saying that, the conditions to play against quality spinners were difficult and we weren't good enough."

Pakistan spin duo Abdul Rehman, who recorded career-best figures of 6-25, and Saeed Ajmal (3-22) led the fightback after they had conceded a first-innings lead of 70 runs. Flower said dropping a few catches in the first innings was crucial.

"Maybe we dropped a couple of important catches, but other than that the bowlers and fielders were outstanding and Monty Panesar was great. But obviously our batting against spin let us down."

England dropped Misbah-ul Haq on 30, who went on to make 84. Panesar, playing his first Test since the Cardiff Test in 2009 Ashes, took 6-62 to bowl Pakistan out for 214 in the second innings. Flower admitted that not playing well in the subcontinent was a big challenge to overcome.

"This is a great challenge for all of us. The issues are not going to disappear. We've got another Test. We've got a one-day and T20 series, and then we've also got Sri Lanka and India before the year is out.

"So these issues will not disappear and we've got to face them with skill and a bit of courage. We've got to be a lot better than we were yesterday. Each individual will have to work very hard in working out his method of scoring."

When asked if batsmen repeating mistakes was frustrating, Flower said: "I think that is fair comment, yes. We expect to learn quickly and that is a big part of our job, and my job."

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Pakistan beat us fair and square: Flower

ABU DHABI: England coach Andy Flower said Sunday Pakistan's series-clinching Test win would be a huge boost to the country, but called on his team to show their mettle on subsequent matches in the subcontinent.

Pakistan thumped England by 72 runs in the second Test here on Saturday, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. They won the first Test by ten wickets in Dubai.

The third and final Test begins in Dubai from February 3.

Under Flower England had been unbeaten in their last nine Test series, which saw them rise to number one in rankings last year.

But after being set a tricky 145-run target to win on Saturday, England were dismissed for a paltry 72 runs as Pakistan's spin bowlers came to the fore.

"We realise that we haven't been very skillful in dealing with that type of cricket. In saying that, it's also right to praise the Pakistan team for what they have done. They beat us fair and square," said Flower.

"They have beaten us properly in two matches. They have fought hard and worked hard at their game and in a way I'm very happy for them. It's good for their cricket and it's good for their country."

Flower, a former Zimbabwean batsman, said defeats were a 'wake-up' call for England.

"It was a wake-up call no one wanted to get. Not to that degree. But, yes it is," said Flower.

"Yesterday (Saturday) was very poor. The three days preceding that were pretty good. We put ourselves in a good position where we could have won the Test but then performed very badly with the bat to lose it.

"We didn't put any pressure on their bowlers in the second innings. We allowed them to bowl and create pressure. In saying that, the conditions to play against quality spinners were difficult and we weren't good enough."

Pakistan spin duo Abdul Rehman, who recorded career-best figures of 6-25, and Saeed Ajmal (3-22) led the fightback after they had conceded a first-innings lead of 70 runs.

Flower said dropping a few catches in the first innings was crucial.

"Maybe we dropped a couple of important catches, but other than that the bowlers and fielders were outstanding and Monty Panesar was great. But obviously our batting against spin let us down."

England dropped Misbah-ul Haq on 30, who went on to make 84. Panesar, playing his first Test since the Cardiff Test in 2009 Ashes, took 6-62 to bowl Pakistan out for 214 in the second innings.

Flower admitted that not playing well in the subcontinent was a big challenge to overcome.

"This is a great challenge for all of us. The issues are not going to disappear. We've got another Test. We've got a one-day and T20 series, and then we've also got Sri Lanka and India before the year is out.

"So these issues will not disappear and we've got to face them with skill and a bit of courage. We've got to be a lot better than we were yesterday. Each individual will have to work very hard in working out his method of scoring."

When asked if batsmen repeating mistakes was frustrating, Flower said: "I think that is fair comment, yes. We expect to learn quickly and that is a big part of our job, and my job."

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Pakistan celebrates series win against England

KARACHI: Pakistan Sunday celebrated its extraordinary cricket series triumph over world number one Test side England, with former greats hoping the team build on their astonishing turnaround from virtual pariahs.

Pakistan humiliated England by 72 runs in the second Test in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, to clinch an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, a victory which sent the cricket-mad nation into a frenzy.

Former captain Zaheer Abbas said the spinners made the impossible possible as they wrecked England for 72 -- their lowest total against Pakistan in all Tests -- after they were set a modest target of 145 to win.

"It's an extraordinary win," Abbas told AFP. "I will give credit to captain Misbah-ul Haq and to spinners as even the best in the world lose courage when they have a meagre 145-run target to defend."

Left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman grabbed a career-best 6-25 while Saeed Ajmal took 3-22 to destroy England for a second consecutive defeat after Pakistan won the first Test in Dubai by 10 wickets.

Iqbal Qasim, a great left-arm spin bowler in his playing days, said the victory would lift Pakistani cricket.

"Pakistan will gain tremendous confidence after this win over the world number one team," said Qasim. "Pakistan outclassed England during the two Tests and now I think all those teams who were not ready to play us will want to compete."

Fellow former spinner Abdul Qadir said Misbah's men had delighted the whole country with their performance.

"The team has lifted the nation by beating the world number one team," said Qadir, who wrecked England for their previous lowest total of 130 in Lahore in 1987. Pakistan had also bowled England for 130 at the Oval in 1954.

"I will give credit to Misbah for the way he is leading the team, and to all the players and the management," said Qadir, hoping Pakistan also win the third Test in Dubai for a clean sweep.

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Zaka Ashraf was full of praise for Misbah and the team.

"Credit to Misbah for this fabulous win," said Ashraf. "Misbah never looked tense even under extremely (high) pressure moments and that is why his players responded with this impressive win."

Pakistani media also trumpeted the team's win on the main television news and with front-page headlines.

"No. It wasn't a dream. Pakistan's spin merchants ran through a hapless England batting, stealing the unlikeliest of victories from the highest-ranking Test team in the world," the News said under a banner headline "The Triumph."

"By the time Pakistan's spinners were through, the mighty England batsmen had begun to resemble a bunch of amateurish schoolboys. A shell-shocked England had lost to the Pakistani underdogs," the News said.

The paper said the win marked a turnaround in Pakistan cricket.

"Abu Dhabi represented a miraculous turnaround, a triumph of sheer will over adversity. Just over a year ago, the Pakistan team had been as close as it is possible to becoming the pariahs of the cricketing world.

"Shamed and humiliated, three of its players were in prison for spot-fixing, and a combination of politics, intrigue, nepotism and sheer incompetence had taken its toll on the team," said the paper.

College student Farooq Khan said Misbah's men had made the nation proud.

"We hear so many bad things about our cricket team, but in the last two years Misbah and his team have made us proud," said Khan. "We are proud of the team, Misbah and coach Mohsin Khan."

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Saeed Ajmal rises to No.2 spot as Abdur Rehman breaks into the top 10

Crafty off-spinner Saeed Ajmal has risen one more place and his spin partner Abdur Rehman has broken into the top 10 for the first time in his career in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers which were released on Sunday after the conclusion of the Abu Dhabi, Adelaide and Napier Tests.

Saeed followed up his 10-97 in the Dubai Test with seven for 130 in the Abu Dhabi Test which was enough to put him ahead of England's fast bowler James Anderson in second position.

The 34-year-old has earned 50 ratings points for this achievement giving him a career-best rating, and he now leads Anderson by 25 ratings points but still trails number-one ranked Dale Steyn of South Africa by 84 ratings points.

Left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman, who had figures of two for 67 and six for 25 to win the man of the match award, has jumped five places to ninth spot. The 31-year-old from Sialkot had also gained five places in the bowlers' rankings after his match figures of four for 89 in the Dubai Test.

This is after 23 years year that two Pakistan spinners figure inside the top 10 of the Test player rankings. In September 1988, Abdul Qadir was ranked fifth and Iqbal Qasim 10th, along with Imran Khan (third), Wasim Akram (eighth) and Tauseef Ahmed (13th). The very fact that Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez are currently the two top-ranked ODI bowlers means this is undoubtedly one of the finest periods for Pakistan spinners in the history of the game.

Also making upward movements are Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris, Nathan Lyon (all Australia), Chris Martin, Doug Bracewell (both New Zealand), while Monty Panesar of England has returned to the rankings in 34th position.

Siddle, who won the man of the match award for his six for 96 in the Adelaide Test, has gained two places and is now in fourth position with a career-best rating, Harris's match figures of four for 112 has lifted him four places to 22nd spot, while Lyon's match figures of five for 111 has earned him nine places and puts him in 43rd position.

Martin has jumped three places to 13th position following his match figures of eight for 31 in the Napier Test which has also earned him the man of the award while Bracewell has climbed four places and is now in 31st position after his five for 38.

Mainstays of their sides' batting orders - Michael Clarke, Misbah-ul-Haq, Ricky Ponting and Ross Taylor - have made big strides in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen.

Clarke, who struck 210 and 37 and ended up as the player of the series against India, has moved up seven places and now occupies third position. Ponting is the next highest-ranked Australia batsman in 14th position after he climbed eight places following his scores of 221 and 60 not out.

Misbah has broken into the top 10 for the first time in his career in eighth position by rising six places following his contributions of 84 and 12 while Taylor's 122 retired hurt in Napier has lifted him three places to 17th position.

Other notable batsmen moving up the order include Azhar Ali in 22nd (up by two), Andrew Strauss in 33rd (up by one), Brad Haddin in 41st (up by two), Asad Shafiq in 47th (up by 12), Virat Kohli in 50th (up by 17) and Bradley-John Watling in 78th (up by 23).

Reliance ICC Test Championship table

Despite Pakistan having already won its seventh series out of 11 against England since 1983-84, there is still a lot to play for in the third and final Test which starts in Dubai on Friday 3 February.

For England, the equation is very simple and straightforward - it has to win the Test to be guaranteed a number-one spot at the 1 April cut-off date and with it a US$175,000 prize which is presented annually to the side which tops the Reliance ICC Test Championship table at the cut-off date.

If England wins the Test, it will finish on 120 ratings points and will top the table irrespective of how South Africa's three-Test series in New Zealand, to be played from 7-27 March, pans out.

However, England's failure to win the Dubai Test will give South Africa a chance to not only reclaim the number-one spot but will also win the US$175,000 prize.

If England loses the Dubai Test and with it the series 3-0, it will finish on 118 ratings points and can be overtaken by South Africa by a ratings point, provided South Africa sweeps the series in New Zealand.

If England salvages a draw, then it will end on 119 ratings points but will be beaten by South Africa by 0.01 of a ratings point, again if the Proteas win all the three Tests against New Zealand.

The incentive for Pakistan is to win the Test and the series 3-0 is also high. It has the opportunity to narrow the gap with India and Australia to just three ratings points. The two sides are currently sitting on 111 ratings points each, but India is ranked third by a fraction of a point following the home side's 4-0 series win.

A 2-1 series win will mean it will finish on 105 ratings points, while a 2-0 series win will earn it eight ratings points and it will finish on 107 ratings points.

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ICC Executive Board to meet in Dubai

The ICC Executive Board will hold the first of its scheduled 2012 meetings in Dubai, starting on 31 January 2012 and concluding on 1 February 2012. The major topics on the agenda are:

Independent Governance Review

In April 2011, the ICC had adopted a new strategic plan which identified the need for an independent governance review as one of the key initiatives to 'build a bigger, better global game'. In August 2011, after confirming the scope for the review, the ICC Board appointed Lord Woolf of Barnes and PricewaterhouseCoopers to conduct the review.

The governance review is intended to help the ICC's aspiration to be a well governed and leading global sporting organization. The Board had agreed that, inter-alia, the ICC's committee structure and Board makeup will benefit from a thorough governance review, recognizing that the ICC's Memorandum and Articles were drafted at a time when the cricket landscape was very different.

Following an interim report presented by Lord Woolf during October 2011, the ICC Executive Board will now receive a final report with recommendations. Lord Woolf, who has been assisted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and advised by Judge Mudgal of India, had previously praised the Board for embracing the concept of an independent review.

The scope of the review is comprehensive and includes:

. Clarifying the role and structure of the ICC and its committees to ensure that strategic goals are met effectively and that decision-making is made in the best interests of the game. This would include consideration of independent committee members and directors

. The ICC President nomination and election process

. The Member categories and criteria for membership

. The effectiveness of the regulatory environment

. The Constitutional framework and documents to ensure they are 'fit for purpose'

. Making recommendations to ensure that the ICC enjoys a reputation as a well governed and leading global sporting organisation.

ICC Vice-President (2012-2014) nomination

The ICC Board will consider the nomination received from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the next ICC Vice-President who will succeed Mr Alan Isaac as the ICC President in 2014.

Promotion of Test Cricket

Following the decision to defer the Test World Championship, the ICC Board will consider a proposal to increase incentives in the form of prize money to promote Test match cricket in the period before the ICC Test Championship event in 2017.

Other agenda items include update reports on the ICC Global Cricket Academy, the implementation of Anti-Corruption Codes at domestic level, the adoption of a Safety and Security Code, the independent report from KPMG on ticketing during the ICC Cricket World Cup and the annual report from the ICC Ethics Officer.

The ICC Board consists of the chairman or president from each of the 10 Full Members plus three Associate Member representatives. Also present at ICC Board meetings is the ICC President, who chairs proceedings, the ICC Chief Executive and the ICC Vice-President, as well as, by invitation of the President, the ICC Principal Advisor.

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Misbah, Stauss hail resurgent Pakistan

Rival captains Misbah-ul Haq and Andrew Strauss acknowledged Pakistan's excellent performance which saw them win the second Test against England by 72 runs in a thrilling finish here on Saturday.

Left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman rocked England -- chasing a tricky 145-run target -- with 6-62 which helped Pakistan bowl out their opponents for a paltry 72 on a weary fourth day Abu Dhabi Stadium pitch.

This was the world's top ranked test team's lowest total against Pakistan in all Tests, worse than the 130 they made at The Oval in 1954 and again in Lahore in 1987.

The victory gives Pakistan an unassailable 2-0 lead with the third and final Test in Dubai. They won the first Test by ten wickets in Dubai.

Misbah said Pakistan's win was a huge achievement.

"It's a big win against the top side in the world," said Misbah, who has won eight of the 14 Tests since taking over as skipper in October 2010. "I don't have words to describe this win which was made possible through a team effort."

Misbah said his team has proved it can do well against the world's best teams.

"There was a lot of pre-series talk that it's our first big real test against a top team, so we had a very good opportunity to prove ourselves and the team has done well to prove this," said Misbah, who has not lost a series yet.

Pakistan were able to at least set some sort of target by Azhar Ali (68) and Asad Shafiq (43) who put on an invaluable 88 runs for the fifth wicket before left-armer Monty Panesar finished them off for 214 with 6-62.

Misbah said his team believed they could beat England despite setting them what looked on the face of it a modest run chase.

"I think we had the realisation that we will have to fight whatever the target is and we also knew that the England batsmen were not scoring runs, they were struggling, especially when the ball was turning.

"We had a good hope that we could make a match out of it and in the end the bowlers proved that and bowled well to give us the win," said Misbah, of his bowlers which saw Saeed Ajmal also take 3-22, taking him to the landmark of 100 wickets in 19 Tests.

He became the fastest to 100 wickets for Pakistan, beating Waqar Younis and Mohammad Asif who reached the target in their 20th Test.

Asked will his team look for a clean sweep against England, Misbah said: "We will try to do our best, we are up against the best team so they can come back in the series, but we will do what we can do, play well."

Strauss praised Pakistan's performance.

"Pakistan have thoroughly deserved their victory in the series," said Strauss, whose team was unbeaten in their previous nine series since losing to the West Indies in early 2009.

"We’ve been below where we want to be and we need to come back and bounce back strongly from this."

Strauss lamented England's weakness in the sub-continent.

"As I said at the start of this tour this is the final frontier in a lot of ways, the sub-continent. English sides haven’t done very well out here in the past and we came here and approached things pretty positively.

"I think we felt we had a great chance to win this series. But, I think the fact we got rolled over twice in Dubai and here meant that there was some baggage there going into this final innings," said Strauss.

Strauss admitted low targets are tricky.

"Sometimes those sorts of totals are the hardest to chase because you know that you’re almost there. I suppose it’s easy to get caught between two schools, whether to be patient and wait for scoring opportunities."

Strauss said England did well to be in a winning position on the first three days.

"It’s bitterly disappointing becuase we’d worked so hard over the course of the game to get ourselves into a winning position and you’ve got to give a lot.

"But having done all that hard work you need to go on and complete the job, we just didn’t play well enough, individually and collectively."

Both teams will also play four one-day internationals and three Twenty20 after Tests.

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