Pakistan leave for England with aim to end 20-year wait

LAHORE: Eyeing to do well in English conditions, the Pakistan team left for England from Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore on Saturday morning.

Pakistan will start the England tour with a four-match Test series which commences from July 14, followed by five One-day Internationals and one Twenty20.

The green-shirts have not won a Test series in England in 20 years, after their 2-0 triumph in 1996 under Wasim Akram. They have played 13 Test series in England and have won three, consecutively between 1987 and 1996. England have won seven, while three were drawn.

Misbah-ul-Haq will lead the side in Tests, while Azhar Ali and Safraz Ahmed will be captains for the ODI and T20I squads, respectively.

Pakistan last played a Test seven months ago in the UAE against the same opposition. Since then, many of their players, including Misbah, have been idle for a large portion of time, though players like Sarfraz, Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz have played in limited-overs cricket.

From the current touring party, only Azhar Ali, Amir and Wahab were a part of the squad that travelled in 2010. The inexperience has led to former players being sceptical of how they will fare, but Misbah exuded confidence on the eve of the team’s departure.

“This is true that it will be a challenging series, but, overall, we have experience of playing good cricket irrespective of the conditions, and that is what we are confident about,” he said.

“We only have to apply ourselves, have to fight, and these boys love challenges. This is another challenge for them and they are ready for it. Nothing is easy and each time we have to fight it out to win, so this is yet another task for the boys,” added Misbah, while urging the players to apply themselves and not get overawed by the conditions.

Pakistan will have a two-week conditioning camp in Hampshire, before they formally begin their tour with a three-day practice match against Somerset from July 3.

Misbah said it was important to focus on the cricket and not let the unsavoury moments of the past affect them.

“It indeed is a tough series, but the easy way to deal with this tour is to just focus on your game,” Misbah said. “We don’t have to look around and there is no need to peep into the past, otherwise you will never move ahead. Just believe in your training, your practice and enjoy your cricket. This is the only way to keep away from controversies.”

This will be the first assignment for new head coach Mickey Arthur while it will see the return of Amir in England after the infamous spot-fixing scandal in 2010. With Amir set to play his first Test in more than five years, Misbah backed him to come out of the shadow of the spot-fixing controversy.

“Whatever happened in past is gone, but it has resulted in some solid life lessons for him,” Misbah said. “He has changed, and now he has an opportunity to prove himself as a bowler and as a person as well.”

Squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez (subject to fitness), Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Iftikhar Ahmed, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Sohail Khan, Imran Khan.