How Will the England Side Fare Against the Wrath of Pakistan's Bowling Attack?

For the upcoming series, what should Pakistan's bowling attack against England be like? Both teams are scheduled to play 5 ODIs and one T20 against each other. Let's push aside the T20 match and focus only on the one-day matches. Which bowlers can win the match for Pakistan? Pakistan faces a myriad of challenges in the spin department. That is because Shahdab is not available for the series. Unfortunately, he won't be able to play because of injuries. Shahdab's replacement is Yasir Shah for the England series. Although Yasir Shah is a formidable spinner but he hasn't performed very well in ODI matches. His forte is the test matches. He is not the same superstar in one day matches as he is in test cricket. There are a couple of reasons for that. In batting pitches, you got to have a long leg spin or a voracious googly or hit a hard length like Imran Tahir. When Imran Tahir gets attacked by the batsman he goes for the hard length or goes flat. This makes it difficult for the batsman to take a pull shot or even shot straight to the drive. Yasir Shah does not possess such a hard length or a long spin that can make the batsman worry and confused. Thus there are a lot of problems with the style of Yasir Shah and he would really have to work to become a quality one day bowler.

So then the question remains: who should bowl the new ball? Well, we do have the services of Imad Wasim. He bowls well with the new ball. But when he gets done with the new ball; in the second or third spell, the effect of his bowling gets nullified.  He gets exposed as well because with the new ball he gets a curve in his bowling spells and that curve disappears as soon as the new ball gets old. Imad doesn't have spin which is why a batsman can line up and hit straight quite easily. 

So there are lot of problems there too because if you're opening up with Imad Wasim then what about the pacers. As we're playing in England, so letting the pacers play with the new ball is important as well. 

So, in my humble opinion, it would be best to open up with Muhammad Amir with the support of Shaheen Shah Afridi. Both are quite good fast bowlers. Muhammad Amir is clearly struggling but in the England pitches, he shouldn't be struggling that much because his length is very good. Shaheen Shah Afridi has proved himself to be quite an accomplished one day bowler. The combination of these two bowlers would prove lethal in the matches. Then, later on, we can incorporate Imad Wasim around the 10th over as well in the bowling attack. 

Then we also have the option of Hassan Ali. A very potent option. It was through his bowling that Pakistan was able to win the Champions Trophy. He came in the middle of the innings and through the use of reverse swing created a mess for the opponents. 

One thing that Pakistan needs to keep in mind is that we have to take wickets in order to defeat England. We can't afford to play defensive. We will have to play smart and introduce a change of pace from time to time as England have good batsmen who can smash the ball really well.