LONDON: Yasir Hameed is set to win his first Test cap in three years in one of four changes to the side as Pakistan look to bounce back in their series against England here at The Oval.
The tourists are 2-0 down in a four-Test campaign heading into the third match – a “must-win” encounter according to Pakistan captain Salman Butt – starting at The Oval here on Wednesday.
Hameed, a 32-year-old top-order batsman, played the last of his 23 Tests against India in Bangalore in 2007.
But with Pakistan struggling for runs – they have been dismissed for record low scores against England of 80 and 72 in crushing defeats at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston respectively – he has been recalled.
Also set for a return to Test action is senior batsman and former captain Mohammad Yousuf, who averages 70 against England.
Third in Pakistan’s all-time list of Test run-scorers, Yousuf was initially omitted from the squad having been handed an indefinite ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board after captaining the side on their winless tour of Australia concluded earlier this year.
He was recalled ahead of the Edgbaston Test but was not selected after only arriving in England the day before the match.
Struggling batsmen Umar Amin and Shoaib Malik are set to make way for Hameed and Yousuf.
Pakistan’s other two changes are injury-enforced with Kamran Akmal back in the side after Zulqarnain Haider, who made a gutsy 80 on debut at Edgbaston, was ruled out with a fractured finger suffered in the second Test.
That match also saw seamer Umar Gul sustain a series-ending hamstring injury and his place is now set to be taken by the uncapped Wahab Riaz.
“It’s a must-win situation for us,” Butt told AFP on Tuesday. “We have made four changes in an attempt to win this Test and give ourselves a chance to square the series.”
Hameed’s inclusion will mean the XI at The Oval is not entirely made up of players from one province, Punjab, which would have been a first in Pakistan’s Test history as he hails from Khyber-Pakhtunkwa.
Pakistan have not played a home match since an armed attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus in Lahore in March last year effectively made the country a no-go area for international cricket.
And opening batsman Butt said this has to be remembered when trying to assess the state of a largely novice side who were thrashed by 354 runs in the first Test and lost the second by nine wickets after coming into the England series on the back of a win over Australia in Leeds.
“Anyone who has played international cricket will know that most sides gather most of their averages and best performances playing at home in their own conditions,” Butt said.
“It is an advantage Pakistan has not got any longer and everyone should have this in their mind when they talk about a Pakistan team not performing.
“This is the only team in the world who are always playing away from home in foreign conditions.”
England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Giles Clarke, who also chairs the ICC’s Pakistan Task Team, has said there are plans to send a World XI to play Pakistan “in due course”.
“It would be wonderful to have any kind of international cricket take place in Pakistan,” Butt said in response to Clarke’s proposal.
“People in Pakistan are cricket lovers and they have their heroes not only from Pakistan but from around the world. They love watching them so if that could happen it would be great for Pakistan cricket.” —AFP
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