More despair for Hussain

13 April 2012

Nasser Hussain revealed the mental strain he is suffering under after another poor umpiring decision undermined his efforts to end his bad run of form and put England under threat of losing the second Test.  

The tourists successfully held out on a tense final afternoon at the Iqbal Stadium to reach 125 for five after being asked to bat out the last two sessions and will travel to Karachi for next Thursday's final Test on level terms.

But both their success and the contribution of their captain was once again undermined by more umpiring misjudgements which left England battling against defeat and gave Pakistan an unexpected sight of victory.

After becoming the victim of a glaring error of judgement from Steve Bucknor in the first innings, who upheld Pakistan's appeal for leg before when the ball had clearly hit his bat, neither Hussain or England needed another aberration on the last afternoon.

Instead of a comfortable passage to the close, Hussain received a second successive dubious decision with home umpire Mian Aslam deciding he had edged off-spinner Arshad Khan behind to wicketkeeper Moin Khan when replays once again confirmed it had only brushed his pad.

It extended his dismal run of only 173 runs in 17 Test innings this year and with Graham Thorpe following two overs later, left England in trouble at 57 for three before Michael Atherton's unbeaten 65 steered them to safety.

"At the moment things are going against me, but I have to be above that," stressed Hussain. "People who play the game realise umpires have a difficult job to do and as long as they are consistent and they make honest mistakes we have no problem.

"I looked at the TV replays after the first innings and everyone said well done for walking off, but when it happened again I just didn't know what to do.

"You prepare yourself and feel you are just starting to hit the ball better and you go out there and get knocks like these - I was bewildered.

"People think you put your pads on and go out there and it's all forgotten, but it's not - there are mental things which happen to you when you're batting and I have to make sure I'm mentally strong enough to pick myself up for the next match because this Test has obviously knocked me a little bit."

At least Hussain can console himself with another competitive display which gives them the chance of becoming the first England side to win a three-match series in Pakistan.

Their opponents declared on 269 for three once all-rounder Abdur Razzaq had claimed his maiden Test century, but only after Ian Salisbury claimed his first wicket in 369 deliveries on tour - Inzamam-ul-Haq caught at long on for a determined 71.

Needing to bat for a minimum of 62 overs, the task seemed comfortable on a wicket which still held few fears for batsmen, which was underlined by Atherton and Marcus Trescothick forging a 44-run partnership in 18 overs.

Pakistan, though, were given a surprise route to victory with Trescothick bowled by Saqlain Mushtaq attempting to drive on one knee and Hussain followed three overs later to increase the pressure on the tourists.

"I was trying to make a contribution, but things are being taken out of my hands and I can only control the controllables," said Hussain. "It would have really hurt if we'd lost this game because we didn't deserve to.

"I'll be happy when New Year's Eve comes along and I'm in another year because when things like this happen, you need to be able to find something like that so you can draw a line under all this."

Hussain's bewilderment at his current fortune will have been intensified by Thorpe falling two overs later after being bowled by Arshad, but Atherton and Alec Stewart appeared to have ended the crisis with a determined 51-run stand.

Yet another contentious decision put them under pressure again, though, when Aslam adjudged that Stewart was caught at silly point off leg-spinner Shahid Afridi only for replays to confirm that the ball bounced up off his pad from behind his bat.

Graeme Hick added to the tourists' anxiety by failing to spot Afridi's top spinner and was unable to jab his bat down before it carried onto the stumps, but Atherton remained composed and had batted for 205 minutes when Moin finally agreed to accept the draw with five of the allocated overs remaining.

"We lost a couple of wickets too many and it helped get your heart-rate going a little bit," added Hussain. "That's why we have to make sure we're ahead of the game so we don't get caught out at the end of the game.

"When Michael Atherton is out there for you it always fills you with confidence and you know he's going to see it through for you."

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