Sharjah: Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, who was with the Pakistan A team in Sharjah early on Thursday before joining his Test team colleagues in Abu Dhabi, feels the Ashes-winning England team his side will face this month is a different proposition to the one beaten 3-0 here in 2012.
“It’s a different England team. Obviously we’re confident and playing good cricket, but at the same time England are also playing good cricket,” he said after training at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
“It’s a new series, we have to play three Test matches. We need to focus on our basics and we really need to work hard. That is what we’re looking for. We’re not just looking at the results. We’ll definitely go day by day, session by session.”
Though Misbah knows leg-spinner Yasir Shah is likely to be the key man to steer his team to victory in the absence of Saeed Ajmal, who had tormented England in 2012, he is not willing to rest all his hopes on just one bowler.
“The way he [Yasir] is bowling, I think he is a threat to every team. Obviously England know that and we also know that he is our strength,” Misbah said.
“At the same time, I think it’s about all bowlers. They all have to play their role. To win a Test match or series you can’t just focus on only one bowler. It’s a team effort — as a team you have to really perform well.
Though spinners got the majority of the wickets in 2012, pacers also picked up some vital scalps, and Misbah added: “We know Yasir is our strength, but also our fast bowlers will definitely play a key role with the new ball, especially in Abu Dhabi.”
In-form batsman and off-spin bowler Shoaib Malek has returned to the Pakistan Test squad after a five-year absence and he will be especially useful in the light of spinner Mohammad Hafeez being unable to bowl due to his ban for an illegal action.
“It is pretty clear he [Malek] is playing really well and is in good form,” Misbah said. “He is here especially for his bowling because Hafeez was doing that [being a batting all-rounder] for us before and, with England having four or five left-handers in their line-up, we just thought about that and of having another option in off-spin, especially with the kind of form he is in.”
Misbah accepted the weather also played a part in Malek’s selection, saying: “In this sort of heat you need another bowler, so I think the inclusion of Malek is a plus for us.”
The first Test starts in Abu Dhabi on October 13.
