Wood praises 'Tweedledee and Tweedledum'

Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid have been backed to give England the spin resources they need to challenge Pakistan, with the bowling partnership set to have a new nickname.

Moeen claimed 3 for 41 from 22 overs during a hot day's work in Sharjah as England completed their first two-day match against Pakistan A. Rashid, who is closing in on a Test debut, was wicketless but conceded under three runs an over during 20 overs as the spinners were given a lengthy outing by Alastair Cook.

Mark Wood, who claimed one of the two wickets to fall to the pace bowlers, believes the pairing can flourish in tandem - a role they had during the one-day series against Australia last month - and a recent film night for the squad has inspired a moniker for them.

"'Tweedledee and Tweedledum' are going to be perfect together in these conditions," Wood said. "We watched [the film] Mike Bassett last night, and there was a midfield partnership of 'Tweedledee and Tweedledum' - so I think they're going to get that nickname now.

"The spinners showed today they're going to be vital. Moeen Ali, I thought, assessed the conditions really well and bowled a great pace. Then Adil Rashid, if chances had been taken off him, I think he's proved he's a wicket-taking bowler.

"I thought they were excellent. I think, if we need to break a partnership, those two are going to be vital."

The 90 overs in the field reinforced what England will face when the Test starts next week in Abu Dhabi. The catching was far from faultless, with two chances doing down and another missed in the slips, and Wood is well aware that every opportunity will have to be grabbed when it really matters.

"If we'd taken our half-chances, I think it would have been a brilliant day - but it's still been a good one," he said. "That's how we we're going to win the series, by taking those half-chances."

Wood also conceded that England are going to have to adapt their gameplan from the often gung-ho approach which paid dividends during home series against New Zealand and Australia. Large totals will have to be ground out then wickets chiselled away in Tests that are likely to move at a very different pace.

"We found out it's pretty hot here and you have to dig in and that patient cricket is going to do the business here," he said. "I tried a few different things, tried to be aggressive at times but I have to be patient at times as well. We got used, during the summer, to playing this attacking brand of cricket - where we've been trying to blast teams out. That aggressive style is what we want to play at home [but this] is totally different."

One key element to England's attack will be trying to get the ball to reverse swing once the small window of opportunity with the new ball has passed and Wood was pleased to see a hint of movement as the day wore on in Sharjah.

"The ball reversed a little bit which is key for us. It's going to be vital during the series that we get the ball moving off the straight - and we managed to do that today."