Pakistan have made a solid start to their tour of England with convincing wins in tour matches against Kent and Northamptonshire. The third and final tour match against Leicestershire (Wednesday) would have been played by the time you read this, with the only T20I on Sunday kicking off the international matches against England.
The first of five ODIs against the World Cup hosts would be played on Wednesday, May 8 at the Oval, with the remaining four matches scheduled for the 11th (Rose Bowl), 14th (County Ground, Bristol), 17th (Trent Bridge) and 19th (Headingley). The series would be followed by the official warmup matches for the World Cup before the tournament kicks off on the 30th of May.
While the tour matches have served as important warmup games for Pakistan, many – including the team management – are interpreting the England series itself as the warmup for the World Cup. Even though there is no denying the importance of the World Cup as the convergence of four years’ worth of effort, and the fact that the visitors should make the most of their head-start in the conditions, Pakistan should absolutely not make the mistake of belittling the significance of an international series – an error they made against Australia in March, leading to a 5-0 whitewash.
Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez
Of course, Pakistan – or any other team for that matter – would absolutely take back-to-back 5-0 series losses, if that means winning the World Cup come July. However, the correlation between experimentation against top World Cup contenders and success at the actual event is yet to be substantiated by the Pakistan team management, or anyone else for that matter.
Therefore, the best possible preparation for the World Cup would be for Pakistan to treat the matches against England as though they are a part of the World Cup. Not only are England the hosts – and hence the side most familiar with the playing conditions – they are also among the top two leading contenders to actually win the whole thing.
Any correlation between experimentation and World Cup success is yet to be substantiated
And yet, the subplots continue to dominate the headlines. The leading among these is Mohammed Amir’s potential inclusion in the World Cup squad, based on his performances against England.
Giving everyone a chance in the tour matches is the right way to go, but Pakistan should absolutely go with their first-choice lineup against England throughout the series. If that means that certain players who are low on the pecking order – which Amir is, according to the preliminary 15-man squad announced for the World Cup – not getting a chance to prove themselves, then so be it. The opportunity to play Pakistan’s first team regularly against the tournament favourites should not be held hostage to one player or another’s chance of squeezing their way into the side.
Another subplot is Shoaib Malik’s return to Pakistan to address a domestic issue, and Mohammed Hafeez’s delayed return from fitness. That means that there is a good chance that two middle-order positions would be up for grabs in the first half of the series against England. One of them would likely go to Asif Ali, who has been backed by many to be a part of the World Cup squad.
Fakhar Zaman
Hasan Ali
Given that both Malik and Hafeez are likely to be first choice in the starting 11 that the team management would have in their mind right now, Pakistan would already be without members of their first choice lineup. With Shadab out of the England series, one first choice bowler for the World Cup is already out. Any more shuffling means that the team that would take to the field in the ODI series against England would be significantly different to the one that would start the World Cup.
Despite the different lineups in the two matches, Pakistan displayed strong bowling against both Kent and Northamptonshire, with the batting coming to fore in both matches as well. Imad Wasim’s century against Kent was the highlight, especially given Pakistan’s struggles with power hitting lower down the order.
Now the team needs to look ahead to the England series, playing to win it, with an eye on playing – and finalising – the starting 11 for the World Cup.
