Skipper expecting more hard work from his boys

KARACHI: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq on Thursday urged his troops to work harder against an England side that will be looking to bounce back in the second Test that begins on Friday (today) at Old Trafford.

Misbah told reporters on Thursday that he was expecting his bowling quartet to once again floor England after Pakistan’s impressive win at Lord’s last week.

“We have to work hard. It doesn’t matter which ground you play at. If the bowler is good he will have an effect. We need to bowl as a bowling unit – all four bowlers need to build pressure and get wickets,” Misbah said.

Asked about the eleven for the second Test, he quipped: “You will only find out the team tomorrow (though later in the dress room it was announced by head coach Mickey Arthur that it would be the squad of 12 that was named prior to Lord’s). Obviously there was a lot of debate about our seamers (all three being left-armers), but all England attack are right-armers. So, it’s best to select the best bowlers.”

Asked about the celebrations at Lord’s, he answered: “We know that England is a fine team. There is a big challenge for us in coming games. The celebrations were no disrespect to England team. They were simply to recognize and acknowledge those who have helped us (prepare for this rubber back home at Kakul),” he said.

“It’s all about how you apply yourself. Every game is a new game and different from the previous one. So you have to adjust to conditions but at the same time we have international quality players who can do that. We are playing in conditions where it is difficult to face the new ball. It is bound to happen that the top order will struggle.”

Misbah sounded confident when asked about his comments on the possibility of England going into the Test with a twin-spin attack.

“We will wait to see what sort of bowling attack England play and will then execute our plans. We don’t know what bowling attack they will put out but if they have two spinners we will have to play them in the same way as we did in the UAE. Adil took five wickets against us in UAE so you have to respect them.”

Finally when asked if Ben Stokes will attack the bowling of Yasir, and, Misbah said: “England can attack Yasir if they want but Ben Stokes can give a lot of strength to England side. He’s played some good knocks in the previous two series and Yasir knows that.”