Pitches at home, in Australia and in South Africa, usually offer something – either extra bounce or movement, or both - and batsmen lured into exploring the corridor of uncertainty are induced into mistakes.
The dry, lifeless surfaces in Asia negate this approach. There is no movement and negligible bounce so that even if the edge is taken, it often doesn’t carry to slip. Slip fielders become almost redundant. Such pitches require a completely different mindset for bowlers as well as batsmen.
Bowlers have to be much more aggressive, especially once the shine has gone off the new ball. They need to run in with purpose and hit the pitch hard.
Lengths have to be varied more too, to catch well-set batsmen out of position. Most importantly, the stumps must be targeted. The two greatest exponents of Asian pitches in the last 20 years, the peerless reverse-swing duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, took 30 per cent of their wickets lbw.
For more conventional English-type seamers, like Angus Fraser or Andrew Flintoff, the lbw percentage is under 20. Waqar and Wasim were masters of making batsmen jumpy with awkward skiddy bouncers, forcing them onto the back foot and then pinning them in front of the stumps with wicked in-swinging fuller deliveries.
Both had exceptional pace to go with their other assets of course and it is a method that doesn’t suit everybody.
But it is really the only way to make progress in Asia and England were a little slow on the uptake in the morning. They opted for a trial of patience, plugging away outside off stump, with slips and gulleys, but to no avail, and the attack looked insipid, Chris Tremlett especially. The Pakistan opening pair registered their hundred stand with some comfort.
Broad, the most experienced English bowler in Asian conditions, having made his Test debut on a fast bowlers’ graveyard in Colombo, suddenly went into enforcer mode (see Beehive above).
He had Mohammed Hafeez dropped at long-leg off a well-directed bouncer, and then, having also forced the left-handed Taufeeq Umar to take evasive action, trimmed his off bail with a peach delivered from round the wicket as the batsman shuffled too late into position.
He followed quickly with the wicket of Azhar Ali and England were back in business.
A second example of how to bowl on this surface came from an unlikely source. Jonathan Trott was thrown the ball just before tea, perhaps surprisingly ahead of Kevin Pietersen.
Trott proceeded (see his Beehive below) to bowl naggingly straight and full with a hint of swing wither way, and soon trapped the unsuspecting Younis Khan lbw with one that nipped back sharply.
The batsman reviewed it, and on English pitches it is the extra bounce that often saves batsmen, but not here and Pakistan’s most seasoned player was on his way.
After this, England really understood what was required. Not only a direct aim, but also a different fielding strategy. Bin the slips and station more men on the leg side (the fifth stump approach employs three or sometimes only two leg side fielders) to prevent easy runs flicked through midwicket from straighter deliveries.
Anderson converted to this mode superbly and finally earned his reward with two late wickets to cap an instructive day for England that will serve them well.
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