England face an uphill task against Pakistan in Tests

England face an uphill task against Pakistan in Tests: With the English team departing for the two-month tour of Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, one can expect a cracker of a series in the relocated home ground of Pakistan. But the real question is whether they have the team capable of handling the Pakistani spinners in their own home conditions.

Taking a look at the England team, most of the players who were part of the Ashes winning squad in England have retained their place. But the question is whether England have missed their mark in this aspect. Looking at their Test squad, while they have a strong pace attack headed by Stuart Broad and James Anderson, their spin attack looks a bit toothless.

With just one prominent spinner in the name of Adil Rashid and all-rounders in the names of Moeen Ali and Samit Patel, it is really a gamble not to pick up an experienced spinner. It pretty much seems like England have their successful tour of Indian a few years ago in their mind while picking up the team. But considering the fact that two prominent names, Graeme Swann and Kevin Pieterson, are missing from the list; who were the highest wicket taker and third highest run scorer in the series respectively, it can be somewhat summarized that the bowling attack, especially the spin section is weaker than the one which toured India three years ago, and the overall team is relatively inexperienced.

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And looking at the batting order, it is pretty alarming to find that only Alastair Cook has a decent record against Pakistan, having played against them previously. Eoin Morgan, man of the hour as far as their ODIs are concerned, has had a modest test career, and averages just about 21 against Pakistan. None of the other batsmen in the current squad were present when England last toured Pakistan in 2011, except Ian Bell. Despite Alastair Cook’s tremendous success in India in 2012, it was due to multiple factors. The relative inexperience of Indian spinners in the international arena was one of the prime factors of Cook’s success in India in 2012. And additionally, India’s tactics in the series was completely haywire. But they cannot expect the same against Pakistan. And not to forget, how will Joe Root, who was incredible in English conditions, handles the UAE conditions. This will be one of his first series tests post a long season back at home. And as far as the other batsmen are concerned, this will be a serious test about their caliber outside home conditions.

Even the Pakistan’s pace attack has been tailored to perform even in flat conditions of UAE and Dubai. While generally movement off the air is quite low, the pitches do provide some seam movement off the pitch.  And the English bowlers, except for James Anderson to an extent, aren’t the best in business as far as seaming pitches are concerned. While James Anderson has mastered the art of reverse swing three years ago, he was unimpressive during the last visit to UAE. Moreover, Pakistan’s variety in bowling attack in comparison to England will definitely give them an upper hand.

While England’s main tormentor last time around, Saeed Ajmal, won’t be around anywhere this time around, this time it is Yasir Shah they have to be wary about. Having picked up an impressive 24 wickets off 3 matches against Sri Lanka, he will be the man to watch out for England. While they handled the threat of Nathan Lyon pretty well in Ashes, playing against two condition-hardened spinners in their own den will be a whole different game altogether.

The more interesting part is how Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali will adapt to the conditions of UAE, having bowled for the most of their career in England. Bowling against the likes of Misbah and Younis Khan in their own den will be no piece of cake. And considering the form Younis Khan is in, it will be a really uphill task for the English spinners. Adjusting with the length and pace of the delivery will be two of the crucial factors which will dictate their performance in UAE.

Eventually, the two major sagas of the test series will be about how the English batsmen play spin, and more importantly, how will their bowlers adjust to UAE conditions. While it won’t be as spin friendly as in India or Sri Lanka, the pitches will definitely assist the home, team. This is a true test of caliber for this new-look English team, which is an important checkpoint if they have to reach the goals of becoming the best in the world in Test arena.