The previews to the series were not promising, but the build up from England was. Lack of local knowledge, a coouple of relatively unproven Test spinners, an injured and out of form captain as well as a key keeper-batsman possibly unsettled.

Five days in Lahore have brought England some hope of a reasonable series result, Continued determination from the batsman and bowlers put them in a safe position, although the pitch did no one any favours. England's plusses were the solidity of the opening partnership of Atherton/Trescothick, Graham Thorpe's re-emergent century, and Craig White's positive attitude and ability to score runs in a tight situation.

Better late than never, although going off for bad light and not making the debut century he deserved the next morning may nag him mind for months to come. White's clean and lusty hits early on took away Saqlain's [left] control, although the Pakistani twirler had the lat laugh, only being denied a ten-wicket haul by England's declaration, for a shot at actually winning a Test in Pakistan.

England's lower middle-order pushed the game firmly into Pakistan's half, and some ealy luck for England's bowlers could have seen a different result, but the pitch was to have the last laugh, as ten days probably would have been needed to achieve a result. Slow from the beginning, it maybe flattered England's performance a little, although these conditions are alien to most of the team, and a draw was a good result, a positive on in the main.

For Pakistan Saqlain grafted and yousuf Youhana shone as leading lights, along with the talented Anwar and Inzamam, Pakistan are strong, but not as undefeatable at home as they are with two experienced spinners and Shoaib Akhtar racing in. Youhana really saved the game beyond doubt for the home team (not that there was much chance of a result on that track), the in form batsman scored a well-deserved century and will be a thorn in England's side throughout the series.
Richard Kendall