Dubai: Smarting under a 3-1 defeat in the One Day International (ODI) series, Pakistan will want to pull out all stops to settle scores against England in the two-match Twenty20 series, beginning on Thursday.
For England they have nothing to lose and if they can produce a sterling performance, like they did in the ODIs and shoot up in their ranking from the current eighth position, it can be a huge morale-booster before the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup.
Answering to a query from Gulf News on whether England finds Pakistan’s superior No. 2 ranking a big challenge and whether they can overcome it by carrying on the confidence from the one-day series, Eoin Morgan, the skipper of the England team, said: “I think momentum is important and so is confidence. We gained a lot of momentum and confidence from the ODIs and I think to carry it over will take a lot of hard work. The relaxed attitude within the changing room shouldn’t make it that tricky to transfer.”
Shahid Afridi, the experienced captain who had played a crucial role in ensuring that Pakistan reach the No. 2 ranking, said he was in no hurry to guide his team to the No. 1 slot before the World Cup.
“I am not targeting the No. 1 position but we want to play good cricket and that’s the target,” he said.
Like Pakistan have got Boom Boom Afridi, who can trash any bowling attack, England has got Jos Buttler, who cracked a 46-ball century in the last and final game of the ODI series against Pakistan on this ground.
Morgan is hoping a repeat of Buttler’s impressive show. “Buttler’s innings was an outstanding performance and, hopefully, he can continue. It would be nice if he can improve on his consistency.”
Afridi is not at all affected by Buttler’s threat and said: “He [Buttler] is one of the best cricketers at the moment, he did well and he played well against me in the final [T20 county cricket final]. He is a great player but we will try to bowl well at him.
England and Pakistan are looking at this T20 series as also a preparation for the 2016 World Cup in India. Morgan is delighted at getting an opportunity to play a top side like Pakistan in similar conditions like they may get in India.
“I think it is very valuable as T20 Internationals games are few far between so three consecutive matches against a really good opposition, in similar conditions, which we can expect in India, is very crucial. So we are looking ahead to the World Cup and I think it is a good opportunity for us as a squad to grow and build some experience for guys, who potentially haven’t played and for guys who are yet to make significant impact in T20 International cricket and stake their claim potentially for the squad,” said Morgan.
Afridi revealed that he will approach this series with respect for the opposition and want to end the tour on a high note for the team.
“You can’t underestimate any team in this format, whatever matches we have played, even against Zimbabwe, they were very tough and good. England, no doubt, is a world class team and you need good preparations for a world class team as they came back well to win the One day series. So our effort will be to do well so that the tour ends well.”
