In the lead up to the series against England, Pakistan will take their deep breath before the plunge in Hampshire weeks before the opening Test begins at Lord’s from July 14. Some believe that they have left it too late, the final leg of their preparations. Some believe there have been little or no preparations for the tough tour of England and that the camp on the Southern coast of England might not make much of a difference.

Such fears might well turn out to be true.

It’s certainly going to be a tough tour, considering that while England are at the top of their game Pakistan haven’t played a Test since November. In addition, their exploits in the two white-ball formats have been forgettable in recent times.

Pakistan will begin the tour with back-to-back three-day matches - against Somerset at Taunton (June 3-5) and against Sussex at Hove (July 8-10) before the real battle begins - the four-Test series against England.

The opening Test at Lord’s will be their first in the five-day format since thrashing England by 127 runs on a spinning wicket in Sharjah in the first week of November. Pakistan’s comprehensive win in that ‘home’ series in the UAE is one of the chief reasons why they will begin the Test assignment in England as the better-ranked team as they are placed ahead of the fourth-ranked hosts in the ICC rankings.

But Sharjah was a long time back. The English lions are tough to tame in their own backyard especially for a team like Pakistan that has several chinks in its armour.

But let’s first begin with Pakistan’s strengths.

This brief yet impressive list has to begin with a young man, whose last appearance at Lord’s resulted in a five-year ban as well as imprisonment in England. Mohammad Amir will return to Lord’s to play his first Test since returning to national duty after serving the ban imposed on him and two other teammates for spot-fixing.

It was at Lord’s that Amir and Mohammad Asif bowled premeditated no-balls and were caught red-handed along with then captain Salman Butt, the ring-leader of the scam.

I was covering that ill-fated tour and vividly remember how well Amir bowled during that tour which began with Tests against Australia. Even in the fourth Test at Lord’s he reduced England to 102 for 7 at one stage. He was one of the reasons why Pakistan defeated Australia at Leeds and then overcame England at The Oval during that season.

Then Amir was a teenager, a talented fast bowler but still without the necessary experience. At 24, now he is stronger and will certainly be the most potent force in Pakistan’s bowling arsenal. Though rival players like Stuart Broad have assured that they would show no animosity towards Amir, the youngster will have to handle possible sledging on the field from the players and off the field from the crowd. Then there will be the English media to tackle as well.

Personally I believe Amir’s doughty spirit should keep him going. It had better because much of Pakistan’s hope will depend on how Amir performs.

The other man on whom Pakistan’s hopes hinge is their former captain Younis Khan. Regarded among the world’s top batsmen in Tests, Younis is the only one in the Pakistan line-up with ample experience of playing in English conditions. It’s quite simple for Pakistan. If Younis clicks, they might have a chance. If he doesn’t then there will be little hope for a side that doesn’t have many match-winners in their batting line-up.

Also there is the resolute skipper. Misbah-ul-Haq has been touted as Pakistan’s most successful captain but the fact is that despite having played 61 Tests, he hasn’t featured in a single Test in England. Though not his fault as Pakistan kept overlooking him in the past, most of Misbah’s runs have been scored in places like UAE, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe - hardly venues where batters are cowed by fiery pacers and testing conditions.

England will be a major test for Misbah and how he performs there will in a way define him both as a batsman and as a captain. I would say that with his steely determination, vast experience and great temperament, Misbah should be one of the success stories for Pakistan.

Much is also expected from Azhar Ali, who has some good personal memories from the otherwise disastrous tour of England back in 2010. Azhar made his debut at Lord’s against Australia with scores of 16 and 42. Pakistan lost that match by 150 runs. But in the second Test he helped Pakistan win by three wickets at Leeds with an important 50 in a tricky chase of 180. The victory, however, was primarily carved out by the pace trio of Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul, who bowled Australia out for 88 in the first innings.

Azhar also played a role in Pakistan’s four-wicket win against England at The Oval in the same season with an unbeaten 92 while batting at number six.

Furthermore, there are the likes of Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed, both gutsy characters who should rise to the occasion.

In my previous installment of this piece, I did talk about the importance of finding a decent opening pair. There remains a question mark on the fitness of Mohammad Hafeez, the only opener in the line-up with much-needed experience. Shan Masood and Sami Aslam are the other two available options and I hope that the two youngsters won’t disappoint in England even though that’s a tough task considering the fact that they will be facing the new-ball against the likes of Jimmy Anderson, the world’s best fast bowler at the moment.

But somehow the top order will have to show some spine before the battle-hardened veterans -- Younis and Misbah -- take over. But if Pakistan are to win matches on the tour, they have to perform like a well-oiled unit.

I remember back at Leeds in the summer of 2006, Younis and Mohammad Yousuf put up a third-wicket stand of 363 to help Pakistan pile up 538 giving them a slim first innings lead of 23 runs. Yousuf amassed 192 while Younis scored 173. Pakistan still went on to lose that Test by 167 runs after crumbling in the chase of 323. Younis was the top-scorer with 41.

It is now the job of new coach Mickey Arthur to somehow help bring the best out of his team. Though the likes of Younis, Misbah and Amir appear to be their key players, the entire team will have to chip in if the tourists are to have any chance in England.

The whole will have to be greater for Pakistan than the sum of their parts? Will that happen? Only time will tell.