Pressure of 1st Test defeat led to England's whitewash in UAE series: Mudassar

India Gazette (ANI) Wednesday 8th February, 2012

Former Pakistani opener Mudassar Nazar has said that it was the pressure of the first Test defeat in the UAE created doubts in minds of England players and subsequently led to their whitewash in the series.

"They have some quality batsmen but the impact of the 1st Test loss was too much to bear - with obvious benefits for Pakistan. All Pakistani bowlers such as Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman and Umar Gul bowled well and there was some assistance from the pitch - the ball was turning but not that sharply. Even Umar Gul took wickets at crucial times during the series," PakPassion.net quoted Mudassar, as saying.

He said he was surprised by the whitewash.

"They went to India for an ODI series and were whitewashed, and then they came here and this has happened - so in a way a loss wasn't wholly unexpected, but no one expected England to fold so meekly in UAE - that is a total surprise," he added.

Mudassar's said he was confident about England bouncing back against Sri Lanka.

"It will be tough for them against India, but against Sri Lanka because they don't have a quality spinner and let's be honest, the Sri Lankan bowling attack is not as good as that from Pakistan, that should give them some breathing space, and with time, before the India series, to regain their confidence," he added. (ANI)