Noffke wants young Pakistan pacers to 'support' Abbas in third England Test

BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan bowling coach Ashley Noffke on Monday revealed the management's commitment to provide a cushion to experienced seamer Mohammad Abbas in their third Test of the ongoing away series against England, scheduled to be played at Edgbaston from September 9 to 13.

Noffke, originally the assistant coach of the national white-ball teams, was slotted into the Green Shirts' red-ball support staff for the upcoming fixture alongside head coach Mike Hesson in a major overhaul by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which also saw the ouster of seven cricketers from their squad following their gruelling defeat in the Lord's Test.

After joining the touring side's coaching panel, Noffke shared having been engaged in conversations with the players to boost their morale and insisted that their focus remains on playing good Test cricket.

The bowling coach also stressed the need for discipline in terms of bowling at good areas and knitting long partnerships while batting to put the opposition under pressure, adding that they have simple game plans.

"Yeah, I mean, we've watched it over the last couple of days, you know, we're also watching above as well, so England can be looking up instead of down, but it looks a good surface, there's plenty of grass on it though, but it looks a good surface, the groundsman's been working really hard to get it up to speed quickly," said Noffke while addressing a press conference here at Edgbaston.

"The strategy's good Test cricket. In terms of what's happened before, for us it's about focusing on where we want to take our cricket, you know, what we want to improve and what we can control with the skills that we have here, so it's just about focusing on good Test cricket; we all know that.

"Discipline, you know, really good areas, bowling, and long partnerships when we're batting, you know, getting the opposition under pressure over a period of time. So, you know, there's simple game plans, and obviously exploit really good areas when we bowl."

One of the concerning factors for Pakistan during the England tour has been the lack of impact in their fast bowling attack, which struggled for pace during the series opener and managed to collectively pick up five wickets for 300 runs.

Although the Pakistan pacers showed improvement in the subsequent fixture as they picked up 17 wickets for 421 runs, the Green Shirts succumbed to a 194-run defeat.

Later, the PCB ringed in major changes to the composition of the squad, bringing in fast-bowling all-rounders Mohammad Imran and Razaullah, alongside pacer Mohammad Imran Jr, whom Noffke termed a value-add, citing their ability to bowl faster than the previous set of fast bowlers and thus backed them to support Abbas, who has been the standout performer for the Green Shirts on the tour.

Noffke, however, did not confirm what Pakistan's pace attack would be in the Birmingham Test, but emphasised that the fixture would help the emerging pacers learn and grow besides getting accustomed to different conditions.

"Well, they have pace, which is a value add, and I think Mike said before in previous interviews that it's about providing some balance to our attacks, so having guys that do different things, which is important," Noffke stated.

"We've got a left-armer there available for selection in Imran Junior, and Razaullah has a right-armer with a slightly different action and good pace, so it's about providing some stability around those guys that have been doing the heavy lifting for us. Abbas is obviously amazing through this series, and we need to support him as best we can.

"Well, obviously not on the selection panel, but they're certainly closer to the 140 mark than maybe what we've seen previously, so they're young guys, they haven't experienced England conditions, and they're over here to learn and grow."