Pakistan look to tame England in tour-ending game

MANCHESTER: New captain Sarfraz Ahmed vowed on Tuesday that after braving a battering in the recently-concluded One-day International series, Pakistan will end their tour on a winning note by taming England in the one-off Twenty20 International here at Old Trafford on Wednesday (today).

Sarfraz, who took charge of the touring party from ODI captain Azhar Ali, sounded confident as he urged his troops to raise their game for today’s encounter.

“We did not talk about the past but this tour has been good, we have enjoyed it and found people have been welcoming. Inshallah we will win the match and end on a high note,” said the wicketkeeper-batsman, who was one of the few success stories for Pakistan in their five-match ODI series. England won the series 4-1.

Pakistan’s T20 fortunes haven’t been much better than their 50-over results in the recent past. They were knocked of this year’s World Twenty20 championship at the very first hurdle and will be facing an uphill task against a strong England side that finished as the runners-up in India.

The match will be the wicket-keeper-batsman’s first in charge since he was appointed Twenty20 captain five months ago.

“I am really excited about the captaincy,” Ahmed told an Old Trafford news conference on Tuesday. “Representing the country is a big achievement, but I am really excited to lead. I am trying to lead everything and to play positive cricket and win tomorrow,” he said.

“We are very confident. We are trying to develop a new team with youngsters and play Twenty20 like England and Australia,” he added.

Ahmed will try to follow in the footsteps of Misbah, widely praised for uniting a Pakistan side who have not played a Test series in their own country since an armed attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus in Lahore in 2009.

“I think Misbah is an inspiration for all the team — he inspired me,” he said.

Khalid Latif and Sharjeel Khan have been tipped by their captain to open the batting, and there could be a debut for 21-year-old fast bowler Amad Butt.

After making his Pakistan debut in Ireland earlier this summer, Hasan Ali’s waspish pace and wholehearted attitude made a decent impression in adversity during the ODI series, and having earned a late call-up to the T20 squad following Mohammad Irfan’s short-lived recall, it seems likely that he’ll be thrust straight into the fray for a shortest-form debut.

He seems to be made of the right stuff — Mickey Arthur is already a visible fan — and for a team rebuilding from rock-bottom in limited-overs cricket, he looks worthy of investment.

England have named a strong squad, with Hales, Stokes, Root and Moeen Ali all expected to slot back into the starting line-up that is unlikely to look very different from the team that took the field for the World T20 final.

Tymal Mills, who impressed with his speed on debut at the Ageas Bowl, is a doubtful starter, having played no cricket since July.

Squads (from):

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain, wk), Khalid Latif, Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Sohail Tanvir, Amad Butt.

England: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler (wk), Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Mark Wood. —with inputs from agencies

 

Today’s match

Pakistan vs England 10:30 pm (PST)