Tips to overcome Pakistan challenge

This week's Abu Dhabi Test will be the biggest challenge England have ever had to face. Here are some tips on how they can bounce back:

Follow Prior's lead: This England have lost before but this one was different. They were hammered by Australia in Perth during the last Ashes and bounced back to win by an innings in Melbourne but the conditions at the MCG suited England's strengths.

There is no chance of that in Abu Dhabi next week.

Two years ago on the tour of South Africa they were blown away at the Wanderers by top-quality bowling. It was the last Test of the series so they didn't face another examination a few days later like they will out here.

England's batsmen are high-quality players but they have not faced an attack as good as Pakistan's for a long time and the worry is that Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal were not at their best in Dubai.

So, the batsmen must follow Matt Prior's lead. First and foremost against mystery bowlers and reverse swing you have to occupy the crease and cling on at the start of your innings.

Make the doosra a scoring opportunity: The safest method is to play dead straight for 30 or 40 balls. Jonathan Trott did exactly that in the second innings. He started to read Ajmal's off-spinner and hit it through the on side and then the ‘doosra' he drove to mid-off and extra cover.

If you can pick the doosra it is actually a chance to score runs because there are not many fielders on the off side so you can play with the spin away from the right-hander and hit with the turn, almost as you would a leg break.

Clear the mind: You can't train to play against the likes of Ajmal in the nets. He is unique. In Australia last winter we could replicate the angles and lengths of Siddle, Johnson and Hilfenhaus and work out where to score runs. When you face bowlers such as Gul and Ajmal they bowl balls you've never seen before. There is not a bowling machine in the world that can produce a ‘doosra' or reverse swing with a high upright seam like Gul so it is about how you react in the middle.

Everyone will say get in the nets and work hard but I think they should be given a couple of days off. This challenge is in the mind as much as it is in the technique.

Eyes on Cook and Strauss: We have seen over their last two years how Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss cut for four and play flicks and pulls off the hips early on in their innings. Those strokes are out of the equation here so you have to work out new ways of taking control. That sends a message to the dressing room. Even though they only survived for a handful of overs in Dubai it was clear they did not look comfortable. That has to change in Abu Dhabi. They have to find new ways of scoring runs because when England bat again all eyes will be on them to set the tone. They have to show us how England are going to score 350.

Does KP hook or duck?: Pakistan's plan was brilliant against Kevin Pietersen. They worked on his ego. He was on nought in the second innings so they stuck a man out on the hook knowing he would take it on. Do you know what? This week they will do the same thing again. But they are clever. They will mix it up. As soon as he gets to the crease Gul will bowl full, straight on his legs or bounce him.

The problem Kevin has is does he hook or duck? If he ducks his head he will start leaning over to the off side making him vulnerable to lbw if Gul goes full and straight. If he hooks and lobs it up in the air he will again bear the brunt of criticism. Pietersen is a fantastic player but he can't have two bad Tests in a row. He just needs to score runs. I don't care how he does it.

— The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2012