Published: Jul 13, 2016, 11:35 AM (IST)
Edited: Jul 13, 2016, 02:51 PM (IST)
With Mohammad Aamer in the spotlight, Pakistan will finally begin their four-Test series against an unpredictable England with the first game starting at Lord’s on Thursday. The trait of unpredictability has generally been associated with Pakistanis, but with an unstable opening pair, Joe Root’s struggle for runs and the absence of James Anderson and Ben Stokes makes England the team to watch out for. If their struggling middle-order and bowling attack find the rhythm, the Pakistani team may find the going extremely tough as the other subcontinental teams have in the last six or seven years. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: England vs Pakistan 2016, 1st Test at Lord’s
It is only fitting that Pakistan are beginning their long tour of England at Lord’s, the venue where it all had fallen off mortifyingly on their last tour in 2010. Aamer, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif — who were handed out bans for their involvement in spot-fixing — have all featured in reports everyday for the build-up to this series. Finally, Butt and Asif will no more feature in the media anymore as the focus will now shift to what Aamer and his team does on the field.
If Pakistan bat well — their batsmen have shown some form in the tour games — and responsibly, this England attack can be tackled. But then, the batsmen from the Indian subcontinent do not carry the requisite discipline and patience to grind it out when the ball moves around in England. Azhar Ali’s performances in the tour games have particularly been encouraging.
For obvious reasons, the venerable pair of Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq will have the massive responsibility of holding the innings together. There could be times when someone like Stuart Broad running through the batting line-up, and this is when Pakistan will need their senior batsmen to bring their A game forward.
The hosts have a bagful of worries. Alastair Cook usually grinds, but big knocks are not as regular as they used to be. He does not have a stable opening partner, and Root’s lack of runs is making the situation even more miserable. Alex Hales and Jonny Bairstow did extremely well against Sri Lanka, but Pakistan’s bowling attack — if they have done their homework well — would know where to bowl against the two batsmen who have been in form.
Anderson’s absence from the first Test puts more responsibility on Broad. He will have Steven Finn, Jake Ball and perhaps the debutant Toby Roland-Jones to pair with. And as always, the role of Moeen Ali cannot be underestimated since the off-spinner continues to enjoy feasting on batsmen’s weakness against spin bowling.
Squads:
England (for 1st Test): Alastair Cook (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Gary Ballance), Jake Ball, Stuart Broad, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Toby Roland-Jones, James Vince, Chris Woakes.
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Mohammad Hafeez, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Iftikhar Ahmed, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Mohammad Aamer, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Sohail Khan, Imran Khan.
Time: 11:00 local | 10:00 GMT | 15:30 IST
(Devarchit Varma is senior writer with CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter @Devarchit)
