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England bank on home comfort against Pakistan to banish winter blues
Joe Root's men have a new look from the team that was so comprehensively beaten during the Ashes and then defeated 1-0 by New Zealand.
After an abject winter in Australia and New Zealand, England will be glad for the comforts of home when they host Pakistan at Lord's on Thursday (May 24) in the first match of the two-Test series which kicks off the international summer. Despite no wins from their last 13 matches on the road, at home England are a very different proposition and they start as strong favourites to banish their winter blues with a victory against the tourists.
England have lost just two of their last 19 series at home and they face an inexperienced Pakistan team shorn of several key players from that which contested the drawn series of 2016. A team containing Misbah-ul-Haq as captain, Younis Khan and Yasir Shah held England to a 2-2 draw in a captivating series but none of those players are on this tour because of either retirement or injury. This time around, the batting line-up in particular looks wet behind the ears and Shah's absence leaves the bowling attack light on guile.
There were five uncapped players in the squad Pakistan named for this trip, two of whom were given debuts in the one-off Test against Ireland at Malahide, and the squad is heavily reliant on captain Sarfraz Ahmed, opening batsman Azhar Ali and left-arm quick Mohammad Amir who has been pronounced 100% fit after an injury scare. Despite fine performances from Mohammad Abbas with the ball and Imam-ul-Haq with the bat against Ireland, Pakistan will need Ahmed, Amir and Azhar to have impressive series if they are to compete at Lord's and Headingley.
Joe Root's men have a new look from the team that was so comprehensively beaten during the Ashes and then defeated 1-0 by New Zealand in conditions they would have expected to fare rather better in. Some of that is down to changes in personnel with Jos Buttler recalled and Dom Bess, Somerset's 20 year-old offspinner, in line for a likely debut. But there has also been a tweaking of the batting order with Root set to bat at three, Dawid Malan at four and wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow at five. On paper at least, with Ben Stokes and Buttler at six and seven, it looks a strong line-up.
Despite the changes, there remain numerous and familiar questions about England's Test team, not least of which concerns the opening spots. Neither Alastair Cook nor Mark Stoneman did particularly well in New Zealand and for Stoneman in particular, after a disappointing Ashes campaign which offered glimpses of what he can do but no more, this series against Pakistan is probably the last chance. For Cook, it is only four Tests ago that he scored a double hundred at the MCG so talk of moving him on is premature but the lull between each big score is getting noticeably longer.
In the bowling, England could have gone back to Moeen Ali when Jack Leach, who made his Test debut in New Zealand, broke a thumb which ruled him out of this match, but such was the capitulation of Moeen's game during the winter that Ed Smith, England's new National Selector, opted for Bess instead. Given England's failure to unearth a Test-class spinner since Graeme Swann retired in 2013, the 20-year-old's emergence, as well as that of Leach, is particularly welcome. Even if conditions mean Bess doesn't get many overs, it is still a fantastic opportunity.
Pakistan beat England at Lord's in that 2016 series, a victory that was celebrated by the famous press-up celebration in front of the pavilion led by their captain. Shortly after that match, Misbah's squad topped the rankings as the best Test team in the world. Since then however, retirements, injuries and loss of form have bitten hard and Pakistan are currently ranked 7th in the ICC's rankings compared to England's 5th place. The summit of the world Test rankings is currently a long way off for both these sides.
When: Thursday May 24, 2018
Where: Lord's, Marylebone.
What to expect: The weather in the
