According to Captain Azhar Ali, England’s “fragile” top position will be the goal of Pakistan in her upcoming test series.
A 20-man squad traveled to England on Sunday for the three-test tour. 18 of the first 29-strong Pakistani group received the all-clear after the last coronavirus tests.
The fast bowler Musa Khan and the wicket keeper Rohail Nazir started the journey together with these 18.
Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan and Wahab Riaz were among those who tested positive for COVID-19 and those who got infected have to pass two negative tests before they can travel to England.
Pakistan faces an English team that has had problems replacing Alastair Cook since leaving international service in 2018.
With the exception of night watchman Jack Leach, England used five different opening pairs and it was difficult to find consistency.
Obdurate Rory Burns has been promising in the ashes, while Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley and Joe Denly will fight for its opening when England play a three-game series against the West Indies before the July 8 games in Pakistan.
“Your bowling attack is brilliant on its own terms and there is no doubt about it,” Azhar said before Pakistan’s departure for England.
“Apart from Jofra Archer, we faced everyone – [Stuart] Wide, [James] Anderson, [Chris] Woakes, [Ben] Stokes and even [Mark] Wood was there, but we still won against it.
“Given their batting, their top order has been fragile for some time now since Alastair Cook retired.
“They have tried many combinations lately and may look a little calmer, but they weren’t really confident. So there is something we can look at.”
Fast bowlers Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi may not have experience with English conditions, but Azhar relies on their ability to overcome a lack of practice on the surfaces they will encounter.
“Obviously, England has a lot of bowling experience in terms of the number of games,” added Azhar. “But we have the skills: they [our bowlers] are young and have a lot to offer. You can cause problems to any team in the world. They achieved a lot in a very short time and that is a good sign.
“You can’t buy experience right away, and you have to play more for that, of course, but then we have a very experienced team of coaches with Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmed.
“Their expertise and knowledge can be used and they will help them. When this combination of experience and skill is combined, we can achieve a great result. I am convinced of it.”
