Pakistan discuss ways and means in bid to bounce back

KARACHI: Pakistan will look to make full use of what will be their last chance to regain momentum ahead of their crucial third Test against England that begins at Edgbaston next week.

That chance will be a two-day practice game against Worcestershire which will begin at New Road on Friday (today).

After their spineless performance in the second Test at Old Trafford, Pakistan will go all out to get their combination right before action moves to Birmingham which will host the third Test from August 3.

Pakistan were over the moon when they began their English sojourn with an emphatic 75-run triumph in the opening Test at Lord’s. Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq scored a memorable ton on his Lord’s debut while leggie Yasir Shah bagged a match-winning 10-wicket haul in his first Test out of Asia to guide Pakistan to a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series.

But the tables were turned on Pakistan at Old Trafford where their bowlers appeared toothless and the batting just crumbled.

“The team officials and the boys know that something needs to be done for Pakistan to bounce back,” a source in the Pakistan team told ‘The News’ on Thursday.

“They have been discussing ways and means to raise the morale of the team and to come out with a line-up that can tackle England in the next Test,” he added.

Among the ways discussed was the idea to bring about a couple of changes in the line-up especially because the team’s top order has flopped miserably in the first two Tests.

However, the problem is that Pakistan have the inexperienced duo of top-order batters Sami Aslam and Iftikhar Ahmad on the bench.

It’s going to be unfair to field a rookie against a highly-rated England pace attack on a what is expected to be a seaming deck at Edgbaston.

“The team management will try them out in the game against Worcestershire before deciding on the line-up for the third Test,” the source said.