Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has identified England middle order batsman Joe Root as the biggest threat to the hosts in the upcoming Tests series against the Three Lions.
Misbah said Root had impressed consistently through his performances and was equally adept at playing pace as he we was against spin bowling.
“Joe Root will be their key player. He has scored runs at home and abroad and he is equally good against pace and spin,” said Misbah in a column for Cricket Australia’s official website.
Root, 24, has amassed a whopping 2733 runs in just 32 Tests for the Three Lions and also provides utility with the ball. In the recent Ashes success, Root was the highest run getter for England with 460 runs.
Misbah said Pakistan would need to come up with a special strategy against the youngster from Sheffield, Yorkshire.
“We will need to come up with special plans to tackle him.”
According to the Pakistan skipper, restricting Root from getting high scores would increase the chances of beating England.
“If you can control the threat of the opposition’s best player you stand more chances of winning,” added Misbah.
The 41-year-old believed that although Pakistan would benefit from ‘home advantage’, the Englishmen would be a force to reckon with when the series kicks off on Tuesday, October 13 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
“England have a new team and, on paper, they may appear to be weak compared to the team we faced on their last visit in 2012. But keeping their recent performances in mind they have the team which can give us a tough time,” said Misbah.
England’s last Test encounter was the all-important Ashes series against Australia which the Britons won with a convincing margin.
Misbah said that England would have learned valuable lessons from the their disastrous 3-0 defeat three years ago and it will be tougher for Pakistan to beat them this time.
“They know the mistakes they made on the previous tour so they will be better prepared this time.”
“Losing that series 0-3 would have been a bitter experience for them and will no doubt make them more determined this time,” said Misbah.
The Pakistan captain recognised the fact that England would be without the services of spin twins Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar who were the front-line bowlers for the visitors in 2012.
“Their spinners back then, Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar, were more experienced and destructive and I feel England are going to miss them,” he said.
Panesar has not been selected for the series while Swann retired after the historic drubbing of England in the 2013 Ashes series.
“They had some big-name batsmen too, in Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott who will be missed,” said Misbah about the once seasoned and experienced batting duo of the Three Lions of which the former is out of the English side due to disciplinary issues while the latter has retired from the international scene.
Trott was the highest scoring batsman for England in the 2012 Test series too.
Misbah lauded the England pace-attack and their performances against Australia in the recently concluded Ashes series.
“England’s strength however lies in their pace attack, and we all saw what they did to Australia in the Ashes.”
“They were extremely good with the new ball and also showed their skill with reverse swing,” he added.
Recalling the performance of the opposition pacemen in the 2012 Test series, Misbah said that facing pace and swing was a weakness back then for the Pakistani batsmen and is a challenge this time round too.
“Even in the 2012 series here, albeit it was during the winter when the pitches had moisture, their pace attack didn’t let us post big totals.
“We struggled against their seamers hence surviving against new ball will be a key factor in this series.”
Misbah, who equaled Sir Vivian Richard’s record of the fastest ever Test century last year against Australia, said that the English squad had now been strengthened with more all-rounders, adding more versatility and utility to the visiting unit.
“England’s other strong suit is their all-rounders, especially Ben Stokes. He adds so much depth to their batting.”
“And then there is Moeen Ali whose spin cannot be taken lightly. Taking 19 wickets in a series against India was no mean achievement,” said Misbah about England’s opening batsman who has proven himself as a lethal threat with the ball too.
Ali, since making his debut in June 2014 has scored 749 runs and taken 45 wickets for England in 16 Test matches.
According to Misbah, despite having strong performances in recent past, England would take time to adjust to conditions in the UAE and that’s where Pakistan will need to pounce.
“The inexperience of their squad in the Asian conditions will be their weakness,” said Misbah who has scored exactly 4000 runs for Pakistan in 58 Tests.
“Most of their players are touring the UAE for the first time. It will be a challenge for their batsmen to bat on the slow pitches against our quality spin attack,” added Misbah.
