Pakistan vs England, 2nd Test, Abu Dhabi, 25th-28th Jan 2012

For the sake of the contest in the third test, it’s a shame England couldn’t finish off this test match that they had so nearly managed to win, but you can’t begrudge Pakistan a series victory after all they’ve been through recently and there’s nothing like thrashing your opponents 2-0. They’ve got a great captain in Misbah Ul-Haq, who makes all the right calls in the field and leads from the front with his batting, and even without their two incarcerated fast bowlers, their bowling attack was still too much for England’s uber-successful batting line-up. England lost chasing Pakistan’s meagre second-innings lead of 144, something they haven’t done since 1902. Obviously, as Michael Vaughan said on the BBC, “This England team has a problem against spin”.