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London,
May 16: Pakistan will draw
inspiration from Test victories at Lord's in 1992 and 1996 as they
launch the International Cricket Council's Test Championship on
Thursday with a match against England at the home of cricket. Pakistan
skipper Waqar Younis wants to avenge Pakistan's loss in the home series to
Nasser Hussain's lineup last November. Pakistan cricket hit a low when it
crashed to the 1-0 series loss, its first defeat at home at the hands of
England since October 1961. Younis,
only the third fast bowler to captain Pakistan, says he knows it will be
tough to beat a rejuvenated England side that has won four consecutive
Test series. England
is "a good side, especially in their backyard," Younis said of
the Lord's clash. "We cannot relax and be complacent at all against
them. We have to remain focussed throughout the match to beat them." Pakistan
has remained undefeated at Lord's since 1982, winning three while the 1987
encounter petered into a high-scoring draw. In
a controversial Test here in 1996, when Younis and Akram were accused of
ball tampering, the pair took 10 wickets between them as England suffered
the ignominy of a 164-run defeat. "We
have a very good record here and that alone should inspire Pakistan,"
said Younis, who is leading the national lineup for only the second time
in a Test. "Hopefully
if we play as team committed to win, I can't see why we shouldn't win here
and the series." Pakistan
will be buoyed by the availability of Akram after the 100-Test veteran was
forced out of the recently drawn Test series against New Zealand with an
abdominal strain. Younis
believes the experience both he and Akram have gained in county cricket
over many seasons will help Pakistan make the right choices as they go
into the series as "underdogs." "We've
been playing in England for ages," said Younis, who has taken 319
wickets in 71 Tests. "We know the wickets well here and know when and
how to bowl." In
the absence of the axed captain and wicketkeeper Moin Khan, Rashid Latif,
a whistle-blower in the match-fixing scandal, returns to play his first
Test since captaining Pakistan in Zimbabwe in March 1998. Pakistan,
once considered the third strongest side behind Australia and South
Africa, now ranks only above Test minnows Zimbabwe and Bangladesh
according to ICC's latest Test championship table. Meanwhile,
England faced an anxious wait on key allrounder Craig White who is
battling a stiff back to keep his place in the opening Test of the summer.
White played a leading role in England's historic series win in Pakistan
last year. If
White was ruled unfit, England might turn to allrounder Dominic Cork or
the two rookies Ian Ward and left-arm seamer Ryan Sidebottom to fill in
for the big-hearted utility player. The
teams: Pakistan (from): Waqar Younis (captain), Saeed Anwar, Salim Elahi, Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Faisal Iqbal, Abdur Razzaq, Rashid Latif, Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmed and Mohammad Sami. |