PAKISTAN TOUR OF ENGLAND 2018

Chatter: How much will Pakistan's inexperience hinder them in England?

by Rob Johnston & Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi • Last updated on

Visiting teams from all over the world rely on their experienced players to rise to the occasion and save them when a crisis is upon them. © Getty

The start of the English international summer gets underway on Thursday (May 24) with Pakistan's visit to Lord's for the first Test of a two-match series. Neither side have had the best time of late in the Test match format and their positions of fifth and seventh in the ICC rankings respectively tell the story of two teams struggling for consistency. There will be, however, enough high-class cricketers on show in both teams over the next two weeks to make for an interesting spectacle.

Cricbuzz correspondents Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi and Rob Johnston discuss the talking points ahead of the series and predict who will come out on top at the Home of Cricket.

How much will Pakistan's inexperience hinder them in this series?

Johnston: It certainly makes things tougher. This Pakistan squad has some talent, certainly, but the conditions in England are alien to a lot of these players, particularly the batsmen. Even the best, most experienced players can struggle in early season conditions in England and against James Anderson and Stuart Broad, in May, with a red Dukes ball, the Pakistan top order will be tested to the hilt. With their opener and best player Azhar Ali out of the runs so far on this tour and two Test novices in the top three, things could get ugly. They have, however, prepared thoroughly for this series with three warm-up matches against the counties and a one-off Test against Ireland which will have at least given them an idea of what is coming their way.

Nagi: Playing Tests in England is a daunting task. Visiting teams from all over the world rely on their experienced players to rise to the occasion and save them when a crisis is upon them. That was the case when Pakistan last toured England in 2016. The team relied heavily on Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan and both played crucial roles in drawing the series for Pakistan by scoring a hundred and double hundred in the first and final Tests.

But, over the years, Pakistan have relied heavily on their inexperienced men and it has worked for them. They handed ODI debuts to three players in their successful Champions Trophy campaign last year. They inducted five uncapped players - not to forget one of them is Saad Ali (highest run-getter in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan's premier first class tournament) who was preferred over Fawad Alam - for this series.

But, playing Tests in England is a different ball game altogether. We shouldn't forget how Stuart Broad and James Anderson have brought the best of the batting line-ups to their knees. The lack of experienced players will be a hindrance for Pakistan, especially the batting unit with one of their senior batsmen Azhar Ali struggling to put runs on board.

Will Sarfraz's style of captaincy, barking at his men in the field, work long-term?

Johnston: I grew up with Nasser Hussain as England captain and he wasn't afraid to dish out a rollocking or two when he thought his players weren't pulling their weight. There's obviously a time and a place for that style of leadership - Hussain was a fine England captain and had many facets to his captaincy - but it just doesn't seem the right one for an inexperienced Pakistan team. Contrast Sarfraz's style with that of Misbah, the captain who led them to the top of the ICC rankings in 2017. Calm, collected and encouraging, Misbah coaxed the best out of his players rather than constantly chastising them each time they make a mistake. In the combustible environment of Pakistan cricket, that approach is likely to backfire sooner or later and so Sarfraz, a naturally more fiery character than Misbah, would be wise to choose his moments carefully.

Nagi: Such an attitude at the apex level of cricket is never a good idea. Even Sarfraz Ahmed has admitted that emotions get the better of him on the field and that he is willing to work on his behaviour. This, no doubt, is a good sign because such a demeanour towards the players is bound to create rifts. And keeping the past politics of the Pakistan dressing rooms in mind it may create unnecessary controversies.

Sarfraz needs to be calm on the field and let his bowlers execute their plans. A bowler is under immense pressure while bowling and the idea of his captain taking him to the task for his errors on the field doesn't work in his favour.

Will Alastair Cook ever find a reliable opening partner?

Nagi: I have honestly lost count of how many batsmen have batted with Alastair Cook. I think it is 13 since Andrew Strauss. England are going through that transformation stage which every team witnesses when an established player vacates a spot. Mark Stoneman seems to be the one who can fill in the void. He is strong square of the wicket, has a plethora of county experience and is regarded as one of the most reliable opening batsmen in the English domestic circuit. The two Tests against Pakistan will make things clear about Stoneman's future as an England opener.

Johnston: Perhaps the question should be "What will happen first - Alastair Cook retire or a reliable opening partner for him emerge?" After trying 13 different openers in the last six years, it does feel like the never ending search and although Cook has plenty more years left in him yet, such has been the difficulty in filling the second openers spot since the retirement of Andrew Strauss in 2011, it's starting to feel like it may never be filled.

Stoneman is the latest man to be tried but has yet to fully convince in his ten Tests so far, averaging as he does 30.17. A half-century against New Zealand in the final innings of the winter has given him some breathing space and he showed glimpses of what he can do in the hostile environs of Australia but he needs to have two good Test matches against Pakistan if he is to keep his place for the India series later in the summer. If he doesn't, where England go from here is anyone's guess.

Is it right that James Vince has to bear the brunt of England's top order failures by being axed from the squad for this series?

Johnston: Yes, I think so. Vince is such an attractive player to watch when in full flow but a Test batsman simply cannot keep getting out in the same way time and time again as he has done. Despite a backs-to-the-wall double hundred for Hampshire in the last round of Championship matches, in his 13 Tests to date, Vince has not showed enough consistency - averaging 24.90 - and been out caught in the arc behind the wicket far too many times. The 27-year-old averages less than 40 in first-class cricket so it was always going to be a stretch for him to be successful in Test cricket although he might argue that his replacement, Jos Buttler, has a worse record in red-ball cricket. For now, though, it is right that England have moved on.

Nagi: With Jos Buttler returning to the squad and Johnny Bairstow moving up the batting order, Vince's axing was inevitable. His outings in Australia and New Zealand weren't impressive at all and he has failed to impress in Test cricket at large. But, it was his tendency of throwing away his wicket while driving the ball against Pakistan in 2016 is what must have went against him when Ed Smith sat down for his first assignment as England chief selector. Vince averaged a paltry 22 in four matches with two 42s. Those 42s against Pakistan at Lord's and Birmingham is the highest he has scored in England. The right-handed batsman averages only 19 at home. So, keeping the stats in mind, the decision seems to be the right one.

Prediction

Nagi: Well, this is really tough for me to pen down and I hope that I am proved wrong but England are favourites to win the series. An inexperienced Pakistani batting line-up is bound to struggle in these conditions.

Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Abbas looked in good shape in Malahide, but Rahat Ali seemed off-color. Hasan Ali picked up an injury in his bowling hand during the warm-up game against Leicestershire. Though, he is expected to be fit for the match, but he has not bowled in the nets since his injury.

In the absence of Wahab Riaz, Pakistan don't have a reliable first change pace bowler and their leg-spin option Shadab Khan is yet to make an impact at Test level. Pakistan's limited-overs fielding might have improved over the years, but they do tend to drop catches when playing in whites. After all, they dropped 16 catches in 17 matches off only Mohammad Amir.

It seems like things might be tough for Pakistan. But, and it's a big but, one just cannot write them off.

Johnston: I think England will start off the summer with a victory at Lord's. The bowling attack, in English conditions, simply looks too strong for a wet behind the ears Pakistan line-up and the changes to England's own batting order and personnel look to be sensible ones. After the poor showings of the winter, a win - any sort of win - will be the only objective for Joe Root this week.

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