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LEEDS, England, Aug 3 (AFP): Pakistan know only victory in the third Test against England here at Headingley will be good enough to keep alive their hopes of taking the series after a crushing defeat last time out.
England's innings and 120-run win, completed inside three days, in the second Test at Old Trafford last week left them 1-0 up in the four-Test encounter after a drawn opener at Lord's.
Pakistan had no answer in Manchester to fast bowler Stephen Harmison, who took a devastating six for 19 as the tourists collapsed to a meagre 119 all out in their first innings.
From then on Pakistan were always chasing the game and defeat was made all the worse Saturday when England slow left-armer Monty Panesar dented their deserved reputation as fine players of spin by taking five for 72, including five of the top six.
Meanwhile the major handicap that has dogged Pakistan throughout this series - the absence through injury of leading fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan - remains.
Trying to find a solid opening batting partnership has also been a problem.
And with Imran Farhat set to miss the Headingley match because of a broken finger sustained while catching Kevin Pietersen at Old Trafford, Pakistan are on course to field their third different opening combination in as many Tests.
Promoting Kamran Akmal to the top of the order in Manchester (where he scored just four in both innings) was not a success.
Pakistan could now recall Salman Butt, dropped for the second Test, while fellow opener Taufeeq Umar, a late addition to the squad, is another possibility.
Coach Bob Woolmer is also contemplating changes to Pakistan's bowling attack after they went in with two leg-spinners, Danish Kaneria and Shahid Afridi, at Old Trafford.
However, in the last 10 years at Headingley only one frontline England spinner has taken a Test wicket (left-armer Ashley Giles dismissing India's Rahul Dravid in 2002).
That has left Woolmer thinking of playing four quicks and one spinner.
Paceman Mohammad Sami, especially, struggled to make much of an impression in Manchester and Pakistan, for all their injury problems, have the likes of seamers Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Shahid Nazir and the uncapped Samiullah Niazi all available.
But, as he weighed up his options, Woolmer admitted: "We've just got to play better than we did last time."
Meanwhile, Matthew Hoggard heads into the start of the third Test against Pakistan here Friday desperate to reach the landmark of 500 first-class wickets on his Headingley home ground.
The 29-year-old Yorkshire swing bowler is just four victims away from the milestone and said there was no better place to do it than in front of his fellow Tykes.
"It would be fantastic to get to 500 first-class wickets during the next few days and particularly memorable to achieve it at Headingley.
"It's a big motivation going into the game because milestone such as this don't come around often," Hoggard also told the Yorkshire Post broadsheet.
Hoggard (29) has played 56 Tests, taking 217 wickets. During that time he has appeared on some of cricket's most memorable grounds such as Lord's, Newlands in Cape Town and the Adelaide Oval. But as far as the pace bowler was concerned there's no place like home.
But Hoggard has additional motivation for wanting to do well at Headingley this time after going wicketless at Old Trafford where fast bowler Stephen Harmison and left-arm spinner Monty Panesar took 19 wickets between them, the other down to a run- out.
Hoggard last went wicketless in Test cricket when West Indies's Brian Lara scored his world record 400 not out in Antigua in April 2004.
Squads:
England and Pakistan squads for the third Test of a four-match series starting at Headingley here Friday.
England: Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Chris Read (wkt), Sajid Mahmood, Matthew Hoggard, Stephen Harmison, Monty Panesar, Jon Lewis
Pakistan: Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik, Taufeeq Umar, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Faisal Iqbal, Kamran Akmal (wkt), Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Sami, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria, Samiullah Niazi, Shahid Nazir, Rao Iftikhar Anjum
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