Pakistan test captain Misbah considering quitting after 3-match series against

‘I’ve never known anything like this, ‘ said Stuart Broad as he bowled at the global Cricket Council academy ground ahead of a three-Test series against Pakistan that is likely to prove a far tougher challenge than the Ashes.

England have recently beaten Australia 3-2 in the 2015 Ashes campaign, thereby regaining the urn they lost down under in 2013-14.

MARK SAYS: “England picked Hales as the specialist opener on this trip and I, for one, hope that they pick him to play”.

“Only four of us are going back”.

“It’s between Hales and Mo, that’s quite clear”, Cook said. “I know my game a lot better – and the confidence, knowing I’ve scored runs against the best sides in the world now”.

Misbah, who only plays the longer format now, said that the gap of eight months between Tests is going to be huge factor in determining the 41-year-old’s cricketing future. We have to go there with an open mind, not too many pre-conceived ideas. “It’s something I really enjoy”, Taylor said. Although it seems unlikely that he will find a route into a middle order that is set to comprise of Ian Bell, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes, his ability against spin could see him come into contention, starting with two warm-up games against Pakistan A scheduled for next week.

“But we have a few young, enthusiastic players”. I gave no thought at all to dropping Jos Buttler; he is a wonderful talent and although he is struggling for form at the moment I think he will develop a lot quicker by staying in the team, even if he has a bad time of it in the UAE.

The unassuming middle-order batsman will be remembered for his remarkable leadership of an embattled Pakistan side in the aftermath of the 2010 spot-fixing scandal which resulted in five-year bans for Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.

“Obviously Saeed was a great bowler as well”, he said, but added he did not think his loss “weakens or strengthens them anyway”.

Cook’s side looked heavily to spin in the last series and without Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar, will be relying on Moeen Ali’s off-spin to frighten Pakistan’s batsmen on the slow wickets in the UAE – although Adil Rashid and Samit Patel are also in the squad. “Moeen has had a fantastic start to his worldwide career with his all-round contribution”. “We absolutely want more, the guys have just finished the one-day stuff against Australia and are now going to the UAE, but that’s what modern cricket is and it’s up to the players to adapt”.

The first of two two-day tour matches against Pakistan A in Sharjah starts on Monday and Bayliss has indicated those warm-ups could effectively be a shoot-out between Moeen and Hales for the opening position. “That’s why it is so hard to win away”.