Joe Root and Alastair Cook crafted masterful centuries on day one as England took control of the second Investec Test against Pakistan in Manchester.
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Adil Rashid could also come in alongside Moeen Ali to give England two spin options.
The hosts appear more likely to name incumbent spinner Moeen Ali in their final XI, however, alongside a four-man pace attack which is set to include James Anderson and all-rounder Ben Stokes – both returning from injury.
Pakistan stuck with the team which went 1-0 up last weekend.
England are unbeaten in nine Tests at Old Trafford since losing to Pakistan by 108 runs in 2001.
England’s included a much better fist of things against Lord’s match-winner Yasir Shah – who followed his 10-wicket match haul in London with a first-day none for 111.
More signficantly, this was Cook’s first century in 20 Test innings since his monumental 263 against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in October.
On parity with the great Australian, he said: “I can’t really compare that, when he did it in half the games or even less…so it’s just nice to get past 28”.
Yasir, who claimed 10 wickets in the series opener, is fit for Friday’s second Test, having been taken for a scan on Wednesday following a blow to his left shoulder when batting in the nets.
The left-hander mixed watchful defence with crisp drives and cuts which brought him 15 fours before Amir produced a ball that kept low and crashed into his stumps off the bottom of the bat. “It’s happened. It was a slightly messy affair – no one intended it to be like that – and we’ve got to move on, and play better cricket”. “He has been hired for this test but I think the greatest short-term benefit may lie in him giving tips to their batsmen about how to play spin”, Yousuf said. “We’ve practised hard and spoken very honestly about where we look to improve and the shots we play”. “There is a big challenge for us in coming games”.
Of course, batting last on a pitch that gradually turned more as the match went on didn’t help England, but it is a problem they are going to have to contend with all series as Yasir Shah is in a purple patch of form.
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The expected playing eleven for Pakistan will be from- Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Mohammad Hafeez, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Iftikhar Ahmed, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Rizwan, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Mohammad Aamer, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Sohail Khan, Imran Khan.
