Waqar Younis upbeat about Pakistan's prospects

Looking to leave behind a period of uncertainty and turmoil and aiming for their fourth straight Test series triumph, the Pakistan cricket outfit departed for England from Lahore on Wednesday (May 2). The slight disappointment was that ace, albeit injury prone speedster Shoaib Akhtar, had to be left behind.

Akhtar is said to be suffering from stomach ailments and a touch of fever, which was why he couldn't complete his set of fitness tests. "There is no point in taking along a player whose fitness is in doubt. But I believe that Akhtar in due course would prove his fitness and would soon join the team", said Yawar Saeed, the Pakistan manager, while talking to CricInfo.

Waqar Younis, the Pakistan captain on his third and last tour of England, for his part sounded quite upbeat about his team's prospects. "The entire team is all motivated to do well in England. We have a nice blend of experience and youth. The good thing is that the youngsters are very talented and keen to make their mark. I am really positive that we would do well in England".

The captain, of course, has personal reasons to be well-motivated as well. The shelf life of Pakistan captains has not been all that long throughout the '90s and the post-Imran era has seen nearly a dozen changes at the helm. In that backdrop, the series could be considered an acid test for Younis.

Younis, however, would be drawing inspiration from his previous outings in England, the victorious campaigns of 1992 and 1996, when he did exceptionally well, taking 22 and 16 wickets respectively.

At the airport, Younis also dispelled any impression of his lingering feud with his partner-in-pace, Wasim Akram. Perhaps in a bid to bury the hatchet, he talked warmly of his former close friend and profusely welcomed his presence in the side. This change of heart was probably brought about in a meeting arranged by the PCB Chairman, Lt Gen Tauqir Zia.

If the two of them could do as well as they did while spearheading the Pakistan attack in 1992 and 1996 (Wasim Akram 23 and 11 wickets respectively), England's dream run of four series victories on the trot may not endure.

The team, which was seen off by Brig Munawar Rana, PCB's Director and other Board officials, will commence its tour with a three-day outing against British Universities at Nottingham from Friday. This is the first of a trio of three-day affairs that lead up to the first Test, at Lord's on May 17. The second Test of the series starts on May 31, and afterwards Pakistan take part in a 3-Nation limited-overs tournament starting with a day/night affair at Edgbaston on June 7.

Pakistan squad: Waqar Younis (captain), Saeed Anwar, Mohammad Wasim, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Faisal Iqbal, Rashid Latif, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Abdur Razzaq, Mohammad Sami, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmed, Azhar Mahmood, Imran Farhat, Saleem Elahi.
Manager: Yawar Saeed
Coach: Richard Pybus
Bowling coach: Daryl Foster.