Published: Oct 07, 2015, 04:54 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 07, 2015, 04:54 PM (IST)
England’s assistant coach Paul Farbrace has warned his team that the upcoming three-match Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is going to be tougher than the challenges that they faced against Australia in their backyard, a few months ago in the Ashes 2015. England have reached the UAE and have already played a drawn tour match against Pakistan A, and will be taking on the national side in the first Test starting October 13. England will be playing three Tests, four One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) against Pakistan, and their tour will end in November. COMPLETE COVERAGE: Pakistan vs England in UAE, 2015
Farbrace was quoted as saying by the official website of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), “We’re coming here knowing it’s going to be a very, very tough series. I said at the end of the Australian series I expected this to be a tougher series for us to play in.”
England have five players in their squad who were a part of the three-Test series they played against Pakistan in 2012, and Farbrace says that they have the requisite experience of the conditions that they expect to get, as well as the opponents. ALSO READ: Shan Masood’s career-defining series could come during Pakistan vs England 2015 at UAE
“We’ve got senior players who’ve been here and experienced it, and I think there was a feeling that – although they lost the last Test series here 3-0 – it was one they could quite easily have won. They didn’t, that’s history, it’s gone now. But I think we’ve got a great chance with this group to play some really good cricket, and we’re looking to be as positive as we possibly can be,” he said.
Talking about the tour game which ended in a draw against the Pakistan A side, Farbrace said his team had a decent outing, but they will have to improve their fielding. “The application with the ball was outstanding. The one thing we’ve just had a quick chat about is that, to win a Test match, you’ve got to take 20 chances — and we’ve missed a couple of chances [here]. That’s something we’ll have to work very hard on, and something we prided ourselves on in the Ashes series. ALSO READ — Pakistan vs England 2015: My best is yet to come, says Yasir Shah
“We’ve still got a good few days to go, so there’ll be plenty of catching (practice) done over the next few days. But generally, I think we had a really good two days. We saw how players adapted quite quickly to the situation and conditions.”
England will be playing one more tour match before the start of the series and Farbrace believes there is a genuine chance for all 16 players to make it to the team. “Everybody in the 16, I think, genuinely has an opportunity — at this stage. I wouldn’t rule anything in or out, and I think we need to keep our options open as long as we possibly can. Mo’s [Moeen Ali] had first go in this practice game, and we were very pleased with the way he applied himself – and that first hour was very difficult.”
England may play both Moeen and Adil Rashid in the tour match, and the assistant coach says he is excited to watch them play together. “It’s exciting [to have them bowling together]. It’s the way we want to go, and I know [coach] Trevor [Bayliss] is a huge fan of two spinners in the side.”
