Dubai: The momentum for the Pakistan-England Test series reached its peak yesterday with Misbah-ul-Haq and Alastair Cook, the respective team captains, unveiling the UBL presents Haier Mobile Cup Test Trophy at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
With the first Test set to commence on Tuesday, both teams trained hard at the stadium. Soon after, England strike bowler and pacer James Anderson announced that he is itching to have a crack at the Pakistan team. Anderson had missed the last two Tests of the Ashes series with a side strain, but said he is ready for the tough series.
“I am itching to get going again. It was frustrating to miss the last couple of Tests of the summer, but I’ve played a bit for Lancashire [county], which was good and since being out here, all of us have acclimatised quite quickly and are raring to go.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan were hit by the disappointing news that their top batsman Azhar Ali has been ruled out for the first Test owing to a foot infection.
Pakistan team manager Intikhab Alam revealed that Azhar was unable to wear his shoes as the infection had resulted in the skin on his toe coming off.
When Anderson was asked about Ali’s injury, the pacer acknowledged that Pakistan would surely miss him. “He was the key wicket for us [in 2012 series]. So obviously, he will be a big miss for them.”
However, Anderson quickly added: “Pakistan have other quality players who’ve got plenty of runs out here. So there’s plenty of other players we’ve got to watch out for.”
Anderson knows how tough Pakistan can be as opponents in conditions here as he was one of the members of the 2012 England Test team that lost 3-0. “We know they [Pakistan] will be challenging, the heat will be a tough task for the bowlers and will make it difficult for us. But we’ve acclimatised well. We are excited for the challenge and we’ve done all we can do to be ready for Tuesday. We are aware of how we performed the last time here.”
Anderson is also aware of the fact that the wickets may aid spinners more than the pacers. “When we came out here last time we bowled four to five overs maximum in a spell, which means you have to be on the money from ball one and put a bit of emphasis on yourself as a bowler — you can’t just ease into a spell. You have to nail it,” said the 33-year-old pacer.
Anderson acknowledged the fact that the present England team is different from the past, especially having won the Ashes, but was guarded ahead of the first Test. “What happened in the past doesn’t really matter that much. We know we’ll have to bowl very well. It is very important we start well.”
