Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq believes the current England team is weaker than the side that were beaten 3-0 in the corresponding series in 2012.
The 41-year-old batsman is confident ahead of the series that begins in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday following recent wins over Sri Lanka and Australia, and he highlighted the spin and batting departments as areas in which he believes the tourists have regressed during the past three years.
“England have a new team and, on paper, they may appear to be weak compared to the team we faced on their last visit in 2012,” he said.
“Their spinners back then, Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar, were more experienced and destructive and I feel England are going to miss them.
“They had some big-name batsmen too, in Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott who will be missed.
“The inexperience of their squad in the Asian conditions will be their weakness. Most of their players are touring the UAE for the first time.
“It will be a challenge for their batsmen to bat on the slow pitches against our quality spin attack.
“After winning the series against Sri Lanka and considering our past performances in the United Arab Emirates, we're full of confidence to face England,” the eight time Test centurion continued.
“Our fans have lot of expectations from us therefore we need to put up a determined show and repeat the performances we gave against Australia and Sri Lanka.
“As far as our strength is concerned I think, on the evidence of our recent series wins against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Australia, it is our spin bowling. It is undoubtedly our strongest suit.
“I would also like to mention the number of centuries our batsmen have scored lately. They helped us in putting up big totals.”
Pakistan’s leader, however, admits that - with England having learned the lessons of three years ago and recently won the Ashes - turning over three lions on this occasion may be a more tricky assignment.
“There is no doubt that beating them will be a huge challenge as they are coming here on the back of an Ashes win,” he said.
“Keeping their recent performances in mind they have the team which can give us a tough time.
“They know the mistakes they made on the previous tour so they will be better prepared this time.
“Losing that series 0-3 would have been a bitter experience for them and will no doubt make them more determined this time.
“England’s strength lies in their pace attack, and we all saw what they did to Australia in the Ashes.
“They were extremely good with the new ball and also showed their skill with reverse swing.
“Even in the 2012 series here, albeit it was during the winter when the pitches had moisture, their pace attack didn’t let us post big totals.
“We struggled against their seamers hence surviving against new ball will be a key factor in this series.
“England’s other strong suit is their all-rounders, especially Ben Stokes. He adds so much depth to their batting.
“And then there is Mooen Ali whose spin cannot be taken lightly. Taking 19 wickets in a series against India was no mean achievement.
“Joe Root will be their key player. He has scored runs at home and abroad and he is equally good against pace and spin.
“We will need to come up with special plans to tackle him. If you can control the threat of the opposition’s best player you stand more chances of winning.”
Misbah, whose 58 Tests have brought 4,000 runs at an average of 48, believes posting sizeable first innings totals will be key to success in the forthcoming series.
“If you score 400-plus in the UAE then the chances of losing the game become slim,” he said.
“If you can grind the opposition for nearly two days in the UAE’s hot weather then it becomes easy for your bowlers to dominate them.
“We need to be consistent with the batting performances. I feel the inconsistency with the bat is our only concern.
“If our batsmen manage to negotiate the new ball and bat well in the first session we will be in the driving seat.
“We can draw comfort from the fact that we have comprehensively beaten a mighty team like Australia just last year,” Misbah continued.
“It will give us motivation but having said that I think every series is a new series and every game is a new game.
“You can’t predict victories based on the previous wins. Confidence will surely be there but we need to apply ourselves again to beat England.”
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