Riaz, Hameed eager to make call-ups count

Left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz, who received his maiden call-up to Pakistan's Test squad for tour of England, and opening batsman Yasir Hameed, who was given a recall, are eager to translate their domestic form into success at the international level.

Riaz was at home watching television when the news of his selection came through and he was overjoyed. "I just couldn't believe my eyes when my name came up," Riaz told the website Cricistan. "I see this selection as a show of faith from the PCB and the selectors in my ability as a bowler. I'm in good form with the ball and I can only hope that I will carry this form onto the international stage with me."

Riaz made his ODI debut for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in 2008 and played five one-dayers and a Twenty20. He picked up two wickets on debut but, after a promising start, struggled in the Kitply Cup in Bangladesh in 2008, where he was taken out of the attack for bowling two beamers against India. Riaz last played an ODI for Pakistan in June 2008 but strong performances for the A team against England Lions in Abu Dhabi, and against Australia A and Sri Lanka A, brought him back into the reckoning. In six games during last season's Qaid-e-Azam Trophy, Riaz picked up 14 wickets.

Opening batsman Yasir Hameed was returning to the Test squad after a gap of nearly three years. Hameed's last Test appearance was against India at Bangalore in 2007 where he made 19 and 39. Hameed made 513 runs at an average of 42.75 in the Qaid-e-Azam Trophy and he said he had ironed out the technical deficiencies in his batting.

"You have to understand that the hardest part for a professional sportsman is to admit that he does have weaknesses and that there are flaws in his technique which need to be addressed," Hameed told Cricistan. "I've worked really hard on the problems I had against spin and I've done a lot of homework on this specific problem. As for my off-stump weakness, I've been using a tape ball to learn when to leave the ball and when to go for it. It's all about patience and application and I've been working hard on both those things."

Pakistan play their first T20 game against Australia in Birmingham on July 5, and the first Test against Australia at Lord's begins on July 13.