England make plans to thwart Saeed Ajmal in 2nd Test

Saeed Ajmal 

England's batsmen will try to squash the threat of Saeed Ajmal by using the same tactics they did against Muttiah Muralitharan.
The rubber-wristed Sri Lankan who reinvented off-spin bowling with the ability to bowl a ‘doosra’ was the scourge of English batsmen.
However, when they faced him in a Test series for the last time there was a sense they had at least got to grips with what he was doing and made him work twice as hard for his wickets.
That series in Sri Lanka in 2007 might have ended 1-0 to the home team, but it was a hard-fought contest in which Matt Prior came of age against spin and he used his ­experiences there to good effect last week.
Scoring 70 not out, by playing straight and patiently, was the key to his lone success against Pakistan in Dubai and he used the same method he learnt against the Lankans.
He said: “I remember playing Murali in Sri Lanka and one of the big things we spoke about then was the first 20 balls you faced from him felt pretty frantic, pretty hectic. He bowled very quickly at you, which Ajmal does.
“If you get through that period with the men round the bat and the oohs and aahs, suddenly the game slows down. You start to see his wrist better and get the rhythm of the game.
“Batters are at their most ­vulnerable when they first go in, but you’ve got to give ­yourself the best chance.”
Ajmal was able to take a wicket every 26 balls in the First Test, but by the time Murali got each wicket in 2007 he had had to bowl 60 balls to get it.
Patience and a clear mind is what England’s batsmen need to use in Abu Dhabi to make sure their bowlers have more to work with than last week.
They also will not have ­‘rustiness’ to blame for their slow start. England are desperate not to use their five-month break from Test cricket as an excuse.
But it was clearly a factor and, after what Prior calls a ‘‘slap in the face’’, they will be more than ready for Wednesday’s game.
He added: “It is tough to be ready after a long break and this performance has given us a good slap in the face.”
Source:http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/cricket/2012/01/23/england-make-plans-to-thwart-saeed-ajmal-in-2nd-test-115875-23712963/