Pakistan’s Test skipper Azhar Ali said England’s top order have been ”fragile” since the retirement of Alastair Cook in 2018 and they have not been ”really confident” with the combinations they have tried lately. “Their bowling attack is brilliant in their own conditions and there is no doubt about it. Other than Jofra Archer we have faced all of them – Broad, Anderson, Woakes, Stokes and even Wood was there, but we have still won against them,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Ali as saying.

“Looking at their batting, their top order has been fragile for some time since Alastair Cook retired. They have tried a lot of combinations lately and might be looking a bit more settled, but they haven’t been really confident with it. So there is something for us in it to look at,” he added.

Twenty players and 11 support personnel of the Pakistan men’s senior team on Sunday departed for Manchester. Both England and Pakistan are slated to play three Tests and three T20Is in a bio-secure bubble and the dates for the tour will be announced in due course.

Despite admitting their opponents have ”tons of experience” under their belt, Ali expressed confidence in Pakistan’s bowlers saying they can give trouble to ”any team in the world”.

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“In terms of the number of games, of course, England have tons of experience in their bowling. But we have the skills: they [our bowlers] are young and have a lot to offer. They can give trouble to any team in the world. In a very short time, they have achieved a lot and that is a good sign,” Ali said.

“You can’t buy experience immediately, and for that you obviously have to play more, but then we have a very experienced coaching staff with Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmed. Their expertise and knowledge can be utilised and they will be helping them. So I believe, when this combo of experience and skill is brought together, that we can produce a great result. I am confident about this,” he added.