| Player: | Inzamam-ul-Haq |
| Event: | England in Pakistan 2005/06 |
Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq praised the Ashes-winning England team on Tuesday but promised his side would match them blow for blow in the forthcoming series.
"To beat a team like Australia you need to be at your best and England did their best. But my team will definitely match England player for player and blow for blow," he told AFP.
England, who last week regained the Ashes after 18 years, have included the 12 Ashes players in the squads announced for their three Test matches and three one-day games against Pakistan.
They arrive on October 26, with the first Test at Multan from November 12. Inzamam said he was confident his players would be at their best.
"England has been doing well and put their best into the Ashes so we too need to be at our best, which I am confident my boys will be," said the captain, under whom Pakistan have won two out of six Test series.
His main worry has been injuries and his pace bowlers' lack of match practice. His fast bowlers would need to be "super fit" for the clash, he said. Spearhead paceman Shoaib Akhtar has not played for Pakistan since a hamstring injury in Australia in January and Mohammad Sami missed Pakistan's last series in the West Indies in May-June this year.
Both have regained fitness however as has Umer Gul, who has not played since March last year. Paceman Shabbir Ahmed's chances of playing hang in the balance after he was banned for a suspect bowling action.
Inzamam said he was not concerned about the English bowlers' mastery of reverse swing, credited in part with their Ashes triumph. "If their bowlers can reverse-swing the ball, ours can also," he said, adding that "Akhtar and Sami have more pace" than England's bowlers.
Inzamam, a member of the Pakistan team that lost the home series against England in 2000, said he could consider recalling veteran leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed. If "we decide to play with two leg-spinners, we need to play the two most experienced spinners. I can't take a chance with an inexperienced spinner against England," he said.
The 35-year-old Mushtaq played the last of his 52 Tests for Pakistan in 2003 but has performed well for Sussex in the English county championship, taking 75 wickets in the current season.
(Article: Copyright © 2005 AFP)