Hopes And Fears For Pakistan Tour

Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer has suggested that England may struggle to motivate themselves for the Test series against Pakistan after the Ashes triumph. Personally I doubt that motivation will be a problem, but I do see other concerns.

The "Lord Lucans"
There are 16 players in the squad, of those I would argue three will be likely to write "net bowler" when asked to provide their job description in the land of bureaucracy. These are Liam Plunkett, Alex Loudon and Matt Prior. For a short tour this probably won't be a problem, but I'd be happier if we had only one player and replacement wicket-keeper making us reach for our Playfair annuals.

Experience
Playing on the sub-continent presents a special challenge that even Australia struggled to come to terms with. Of the 16 players in the squad only Giles and Trescothick have played in Pakistan. However, Vaughn, Flintoff and Hoggard have played in India, Collingwood and Anderson have played in Sri Lanka and Harmison had a single test against Bangladesh. So of the players likely to make the team only Strauss, Bell, Pietersen Jones and Udal have never played on the sub-continent, which is far better than I suspected. There is reason for optimism here.

Bowlers
The loss of Simon Jones was a huge blow considering his ability to make the ball reverse swing and in the past England have struggled to replace him. In South Africa, Anderson failed to impress, taking 2 wickets for 149 at the Wanderers and at the Oval it was decided to play an extra batsman instead of risking either Tremlett or Anderson. I would suggest either Anderson or Udal are likely to fill Jones' boots. An extra spinner probably won't be necessary as Giles was successful in Pakistan in 2000, where he toped the bowling averages with 17 wickets at 24.11; so Anderson is most likely to get the nod. But he's no Simon Jones.

Batsmen
The only question is: Bell or Collingwood. My view changes with the wind. It's a straightforward decision between young potential or an older more reliable pro. I'd probably watch the form in the warm-up matches and then make my decision. (It sure is painful on that fence.)

I predict a 1-1 result, but I'll be hoping for better. Bring it on!