I have been in that position before and it’s a nice feeling to be able to play with freedom in white-ball cricket.
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Pakistan are now ranked the number one Test team for the first time and Azhar is confident they can spring another surprise and improve their lowly one-day ranking of ninth. I expect England to win, not so much because of Pakistan but because England are on an upward curve with one-day cricket.
The highlight of Woakes’ summer came against Pakistan at Lord’s where he took 11-102, becoming the first bowler to claim five wickets in each innings at NW8 since Sir Ian Botham achieved the feat in 1978.
Hameed believes Pakistan need to show the same fighting spirit and unity they did in the Tests, to be victorious in the ODIs. “We all know its a bigger challenge, but we’re all very excited, the guys, the way they’re shaping up, especially the youngsters coming in, the guys who are coming back into the team”.
Ben Stokes is set to return after suffering a calf tear in the second Test against Pakistan, initially only as a batsman, while Mark Wood should make his first worldwide appearance since the UAE tour, having recovered from ankle surgery. With the second fixture rained off, the electric Test pairing of the left-armer Wahab Riaz and the leg-spinner Yasir Shah did not have a run-out but are expected to feature on the south coast.
England and Pakistan put on a show in the Test series, which in the day of jam packed Twenty20 leagues sprouting up around the world, was a good show case for the five day format. “No one rated us very highly [when we arrived] – a few people said we would be competitive but there were doubts if we could win the Test matches here”.
The England skipper also confirmed that Ben Stokes will be viewed exclusively as a batsman for the opening two games of the series as the all-rounder continues his recovery from the calf injury he sustained in the second Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford. Third umpire: Marais Erasmus.
“All being well I probably would have played one or two 50-over matches, but it doesn’t bother me at all”.
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The trial has been introduced by the International Cricket Council in response to recent instances of players being reprieved when dismissed off legitimate deliveries that were wrongly called no-balls; Alex Hales, whose Test-best score of 94 in May should have ended on 58 for this reason, will be grateful it did not come sooner. Opener Sharjeel Khan and all-rounder Imad Wasim were the two players who impressed but there are still question marks over the players in the side.
