Pakistan vs England 1st Test: Shah doubtful starter, Finn ruled out

Pakistan are sweating on the fitness of leg spinner Yasir Shah while England also a suffered a setback with fast bowler ruled out for the first Test which begins Tuesday in Abu Dhabi.

Shah suffered a back spasm during practice and is a doubtful starter for the opening match of the series at Zayed Cricket Stadium.

“We will wait on a final decision on Yasir on the morning of the first Test but judging by his current condition, his participation is highly unlikely,” Misbah told reporters during a pre-match press conference.

Pakistan are relying heavily on 29 year-old Shah and fellow left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar to win the three-match series in the UAE.

Shah took 24 wickets in Pakistan's 2-1 win in the Tests in Sri Lanka in July and was seen as the dangerman for England, who were routed 3-0 by spinners Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rehman here in 2012.

"Obviously he (Shah) is a key player for us but we are hoping for the best," said Misbah. "We are looking into calling one of the two left-arm spinners who played in the warm-up game in Sharjah."

Pakistan have called up left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar, who played against England in their two warm-up matches last week.

Gohar had returned to Pakistan and is unlikely arrive back in the UAE before the start of the Test on Tuesday, which means Pakistan may have to resort to playing another pace bowler if Yasir is unfit.

Pakistan are already without key batsman Azhar Ali, ruled out of the match with a foot infection.

His place is likely to go to Shoaib Malik, who has not played a Test for five years.

England were also hit by injury to paceman Steven Finn, who took four wickets in the second warm-up game, also in Sharjah.

"It's a bitter blow for him, he bowled really well in that warm-up match," said Cook. "Over the last 12 months he's made huge strides back to where we would like him to be."

Cook will open the batting with Moeen Ali, leg-spinner Adil Rashid will make his Test debut and fast bowler James Anderson returns to the side after missing the last two Tests in this year's Ashes series win over Australia.

Misbah admitted England are more prepared this time.

"I think they are more prepared and know what mistakes they committed the last time so we need to also focus and improve our performance. We have to be at our best to be up there." 

“We’re as ready as we can be,” said Cook who is not worried about going into the match as underdogs.

“We’re probably underdogs but that’s a great position for this side to be in. Not too many people are giving us too much of a chance the day before this series - quite similar to another series we’ve just played,” added Cook who was confident of putting Pakistan under pressure.

“With the talent and the character of the dressing room - yes, we’ve got to play some amazing cricket over the next 15 days to put Pakistan under pressure, we realise that - but I’m very confident in those guys,” said Cook unfazed by the tough task ahead.

“Every tour seems to be the toughest test, especially away from home. I’m really excited about what’s going to happen. We understand the pressures of playing subcontinent cricket as well - a lot slower-paced. You can lose games of cricket in a short space of time, but you have to do a lot of good work over a long period to win games, and the guys are prepared for that.”

The England skipper admitted Shah's loss could be crucial for Pakistan.

"You never know with these things," said Cook. "Of course it would be a loss for them. As always, the day before a big series we're concentrating on matters which are important to us."

"He is clearly a fantastic bowler who not many of us have faced. He's had a good start to his Test career," said Cook of Shah.

Squads (from):

Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Shan Masood, Mohammad Hafeez, Fawad Alam, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Wahab Riaz, Imran Khan, Rahat Ali, Junaid Khan

England: Alastair Cook (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Samit Patel, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Mark Wood
Umpires: Bruce Oxenford (AUS) and Paul Reiffel (AUS)
TV umpire: Sundaram Ravi (IND)
Match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)
 

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