Pakistan head coach Sarfaraz says all bases covered for England Test series

LEEDS: Pakistan head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed on Tuesday asserted that the Green Shirts ticked all the boxes in the practice match against Professional County Club (PCC) Select XI ahead of their three-match away series against England, scheduled to commence on August 19.

Pakistan, who salvaged a 1-1 draw in the two-match away series against West Indies earlier this month, courtesy of their drought-ending triumph in the second fixture, directly travelled from Port of Spain to Beckenham, where they played a three-day tour match against PCC Select XI last week.

The PCC Select XI had the upper hand until the first two days, but Ali Usman's five-wicket haul in the second innings and Saud Shakeel's unbeaten century in the run chase helped Pakistan clinch a come-from-behind seven-wicket victory on the final day.

Reflecting on their sensational victory in the tour match, Sarfaraz asserted that the touring side covered all the things they should have during the fixture, and thus the players are high in confidence and spirit, besides being confident of doing well in the England series.

"Look, definitely, if we talk about our practice match, it was very good. And we covered all the things that we should have covered. Either the bowling attack or the batting unit," Ahmed told reporters on the eve of their Test series opener against England at Headingley.

"And by the Grace of Almighty, we won that match as well. So, the confidence is very high, the spirit is very high. And by the Will of Almighty Allah, the whole team believes that we will do very well here," he added.

Making their first Test tour of England for the first time since 2020, Pakistan, however, will be without their batting stalwart and newly-appointed captain Babar Azam for the opening fixture after the 31-year-old failed to receive clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) medical team.

Babar's unavailability for the upcoming fixture serves as a major blow to Pakistan as the right-handed batter was in sublime form during the West Indies tour, where he was adjudged the joint Player of the Series, but head coach Ahmed was determined to find a "better combination" in his absence.

Ahmed, however, revealed that the final decision on Pakistan's playing XI for the first Test against England will be made on the match day after further analysing the conditions, in which he backed experienced seamer Mohammad Abbas to flourish.

"Look, we will decide with which combination we will go. Definitely, the experience that Abbas has here and the conditions in which he plays cricket here, he will be one of our main bowlers," Ahmed stated.

"Obviously, your main player has a little setback that he is not available in the team. But look, all the boys are very confident here, and we will try to find a better combination in Babar's absence.

"Definitely, if Babar was there, we would have gone with a different combination. But now, since Babar is not there, we will sit and see what kind of team we will field. God willing, we will see the condition and then file the team."