The stage is all set for Pakistan’s young side as they go up against Ireland…
Pakistan have flown to England with a side lacking in test match experience, which is epitomized by the fact that their premier spinner on this tour has only one test wicket under his belt. Shadab Khan has the big boots of Yasir Shah to fill, as his bowling played a major part in Pakistan’s efforts to level the series 2-2 vs. England in 2016. The leg-spinner has been ruled out of this tour due to a hip injury, and the team has turned to its young starlet. Shadab’s 10/157 in the second tour match vs. Northamptonshire offered a glimmer of hope to Pakistanis, with the whole nation hoping that he can plug the gap left behind by Yasir.
Around this time two years ago, Mohammad Amir went viral on social media while he was due to make his comeback after the infamous spot-fixing scandal. Bowling in a tour match against Somerset at Taunton, Amir delivered an incisive spell of top-class swing bowling, claiming three top-order wickets in a performance that demonstrated sharp pace, even sharper movement, and impressive control. This left millions of Pakistani fans daydreaming about him repeating the same feat in the perfect act of redemption at Lord’s. Later that day, YouTube streams were flooded with people tuning in to see the prodigal son showing the magic in his wrists, with many trying to guess the pace at which he was bowling.
This time, it’s fair to say that the quickie is not coming to England with the same hype as before. Without Wahab and Yasir, he is arguably the leader of the pack and is expected to take heaps of wickets – but his recent form will be a major point of concern for Mickey Arthur. In the last two matches vs. Kent and Northamptonshire, Amir has only managed to pick up a solitary wicket after bowling 42 overs and conceding 122 runs. Although it could be said that the pitches were benign and offered him very little movement, he was better off focusing on his line and length instead of trying to go the extra mile – but then again, that x-factor is needed to win matches.
Pakistan tune up for the Ireland Test with a win over Northamptonshirehttps://t.co/CLspG8wAI0 pic.twitter.com/9REoQUxzXo
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) May 7, 2018
Micket Arthur conceded in an earlier interview that the Pakistani side is lacking in experience and will have to adapt to the English conditions as soon as possible. The faster bowlers will have to find the right length in order to be effective in these conditions, and judging by the two tour matches, it would be fair to say that they have been erratic in terms of length. Perhaps they’re still experimenting, but they have to get their act together if they are to pose any challenge to a strong English side this summer.
Batting practice is what Pakistan needed the most before the opening Test of the tour begins vs. Ireland on Friday. Asad Shafiq – who has the second-highest number of test caps in Pakistan’s current squad – took advantage of the conditions, making his 20th first-class century and scoring an unbeaten 186. The elegant left-hander Haris Sohail scored two fluent half-centuries and is taking some solid form to Malahide. Babar Azam, who has not matched his performance in limited overs cricket in the test arena, also smacked a 57. Three of his first four scoring strokes were boundaries as he cut Luke Procter wide of third man to raise a fifty in just 61 balls.
Babar already has seven ODI centuries to his name, and is being touted as the next batting star ready to take the ropes from Misbah & Younis. Imam, after notching a fifty of just 72 balls and leading Pakistan to a victory vs. Northants, is all set to make his test debut in Malahide vs Ireland. Pakistan is now heading to Ireland with a hard-fought win behind them after seeing off Northamptonshire on the fourth afternoon with a simple chase of 133 at Wantage Road.