Still pretty open IMO.

England traditionally start badly on tour and this has been no exception - Last winter's Ashes series started almost as badly, yet we managed to rescue it.

I think if we can keep Pakistan under 350, then we might still have an outside chance of winning this one...They have a bit of a reputation of folding when in control of a match and if set anything over 200 to win, it will be interesting to see how they stand up to the pressure.

If we can get them out for around 320 and then score about the same they might struggle on a day 4/5 pitch to get 200 to win the game.

That said it will largely depend on how we play Ajmal as will the series.

The crowds have been pretty poor. Looks like day 4 of the 2nd, 4th and 5th Ashes tests.

28-3
Gul has all three
Strauss wasn't happy about his
KP duck - is he purely there on reputation? seemingly little consistency these days, or is that harsh?

Aggregate totals from those who have two completed innings in the game thus far

Strauss 23
Cook 8
KP 2
Bell 4

BBC Test Match Special's Michael Vaughan
"I've just been tweeted with a stat - apparently this is the fifth worst match performance by England's top four wickets since the First World War!"
NB The stat came from comedian Andy Zaltzman

KP rarely delivers when we're up against it and you need him to hang around and be patient. Great when we're on top and attacking, but not someone you'd want in the trenches with you.

160 all out, Pakistan require 15 to win, we could do with an early breakthrough here

Just how bad must that Australian side have been for this England team to blow them away on their own patch?

The decision not to play a second spinner because it would weaken the batting looks laughable now.

dodgy betting on the bet 365 web site

Pakistan all out for 14

Please no knee-jerk reactions of how bad Australia must have been, or how we should bin all the batsmen and bring in some county standard no-hopers.

However, simple facts that need to be acted on....

1. KP is world-class, probably our only true world-class batsman....However, he is both out of form and confidence - He needs the proverbial kick up the backside. However, to drop him is a silly idea. Would be akin to the Aussies dropping Ponting or Hussey.

2. Ian Bell is a good bat....However, he has no steel - He's another Graeme Hick, looks fine when the team's on top, looks an absolute bottler when he needs to knuckle down.....I wouldn't drop him, but would definitely get him a shrink to sort his head and heart out.

3. Eoin Morgan has to be dropped....He is not a Test player, never will be....I said it in summer, he's another Neil Fairbrother....Fine one-day player, but never suited to the rigours of 5 day cricket.

England can come back in this series, but they need to knuckle down and not think that all teams are going to be like the spineless Indian side they demolished in the summer.

We played superb cricket against the aussies. It's one bad game, maybe it will be a bad series but we have been consistent for a long time now.

In the longer format, England have been consistent albeit against limited opposition (India in England were injury ravaged and out on their feet IMO).

Performances in the ODIs in India however, followed by the last three days, are indicative of a bunch of players who seem to believe their own hype and think they only have to turn up to win.

As for Pietersen being world class, don't make me giggle. He's a flat-track bully with no thoughts about anything other than his own ego. His shot selection in this game would have been enough to get a club cricketer dropped to the Seconds in a flash.

By and large he plays the way he plays, looks awful when it doesn't come off, destructive and crowd pleasing when it does, it just seems to more of the former of late.

I think the aussies have something similar in Warner, looks like a specialist ODI players playing test cricket and will fail more often than not imo, but great to watch when it's his day.

Pakistan batting 122-4