Root braced for spin and sun challenge against Pakistan

Joe Root hopes the England batsmen learn from their mistakes as they prepare for the first Test with Pakistan on Tuesday.

Big runs are what Root has dealt in nearly exclusively over the past 18 months, that man-of-the-series display against Australia the crowning glory to a golden run of form across all formats that has resulted in the 24-year-old joining Steve Smith, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson as one of the leading batsman in the world. Stuart Broad and James Anderson have been seasoned performers with the new ball while Wahab Riaz and Junaid Khan of Pakistan lack experience at Test level – even though their talent is never is doubt.

“A big series for me would be winning it if I’m being honest”, said Root.

“We definitely learned a lot from these two encounters with a strong Pakistan A side”, he continued.

“I’d still be surprised if I played the first Test. This tour’s no different, and I’m looking forward to getting going and getting off to a good start”.

Ajmal, whose controversial bowling action was questioned back in 2012, was suspended a year ago but after being cleared with a new style seems to have lost his wicket-taking ability, leaving his career in the balance.

“It’s nice to be back in those sort of conditions”, he says. “I want to make a few big contributions in this series and I am going to have to play extremely well to do that”, he said.

Root, however, gave the incumbent wicketkeeper a ringing endorsement – identifiying him as one of the driving forces of England’s future.

But Anderson, who returned for Lancashire at the end of the summer, is “itching” to be involved again when Alastair Cook’s team begin their three-Test series against Pakistan on Tuesday.

He is adamant they will be and said: “We’ve proved over the last six months we can do things people don’t think we can”.

“England have four or five left-handers in their line-up (so) we thought about another option of off-spin – In this heat you need another bowler”.

Behind the baby-faced grin, lies a player whose competitive spirit burns brighter than most.

England captain Alastair Cook admits the magnitude of his team´s task. But we don’t have the luxury of that over here, and I think you have to use these matches to serve a objective. “They’re trying to unsettle you, and that’s part of Test cricket”.

To help him and the other batsmen get ready they’ve had nets where speakers have been blaring out noise to help them cope with the close fielders chattering away in their ears, but it is their technique that matters most.

“It’s about having that noise around you and creating an atmosphere to make it a little bit more hard”.