Akhtar on track for England tour
Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar said he was gearing up for a duel against the English fast bowlers after overcoming fitness problems
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Akhtar, who underwent twin knee operations in February, faces a fitness test in 10 days to determine his availability for Pakistan's tour of England starting in July. He has already resumed bowling in the nets.
"I am bowling at 90 miles per hour and I am feeling no pain in my knees," Akhtar told AFP. He hasn't played since the final Test win over arch rivals India in Karachi in January, missing the one-day series against India and the tour to Sri Lanka.
Akhtar said his problems were different from those of England's Simon Jones whose comeback was twice delayed by the recurrence of a knee injury. "I have no fears of it recurring. I am working very hard to regain full fitness and will do extra work to avoid any recurrence," he said. He added that he was confident of proving his fitness to the selectors, who are due to announce a preliminary squad for the tour of England, where the teams will contest four Tests and five one-day matches. The first Test starts at Lord's on July 13.
"I can't wait any more and when it's a tour to England, it's fun," he said. "I have always enjoyed playing against England and when a fast bowler plays in England he is all pumped up because the conditions are ideal for him.
"It would be a great battle because we have a world-class bowling attack with Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Rana Naved-ul Hasan and myself and they too have quality fast bowlers, so it would be like a pace war."
Akhtar's only previous tour of England in 2001 proved to be a disaster as he took just one wicket in the Lord's Test and limped out of the tour after playing a single one-day match. But when the Ashes-winning England toured Pakistan late last year, a fiery and a rejuvenated Akhtar took 17 wickets in three Tests to help his team clinch the three-Test series 2-0.
Akhtar said that it will take more than fast bowling to beat England. "It's always a combination of bowlers, batsmen and fielders which wins a match. If I took 17 wickets in the series, it was Inzamam-ul Haq who batted superbly and we won because of a team effort. Total unity is the biggest asset of this current Pakistan team and it is playing like a unit and the results prove this," said Akhtar, whose attitude has won praise from Bob Woolmer, the coach.
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