England likely to use all players in warm-up

England are likely to use all 14 available players during next week's three-day tour match against a Patrons XI in Rawalpindi. A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said Michael Vaughan, the England captain, had asked permission to use more than the usual 11 players in the game.

A board official told Reuters, "They want to give maximum exposure to all their players and get a feel of local conditions. The match will now be a non-first class practice game. The local side will also now try out more than 11 players." He added that the PCB was unlikely to have any problems with that.

England are awaiting the arrival of Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison who are not due to join the team until next week. Their opponents in the warm-up match - the Patrons XI - will include several Test players, including Yasir Hameed, Asim Kamal and Faisal Iqbal.

England then move to Lahore for another three-day game, against a Pakistan 'A' side, from November 6, before the first Test in Multan.

Meanwhile, Shaharyar Khan, chairman of the Pakistan board, has expressed his dissatisfaction with the pitch during the practice match between a Pakistan XI and Rest of Pakistan. He was quoted by the BBC website as saying, "I told the groundsmen clearly that I don't need such tracks. It was a pity to see Shoaib's deliveries carrying through to the wicketkeeper at ankle height."

The chairman promised "competitive pitches" throughout the Test series. "We don't want bowlers to dominate and the Test finishes inside three days but they should be competitive. We need wickets that must have nice carry and bounce and have some bite for spinners too."

There has been mild speculation - certain to heighten as the Tests draw nearer - about the state of pitches for the Tests. Some quarters have suggested that Pakistan will prepare spin-friendly tracks, to exploit a perceived weakness in the English team against quality spinners. The speculation has been fuelled further by Pakistan toying with the idea of recalling Mushtaq Ahmed and giving Imran Tahir, another leg-spinner and former U-19 player, a prolonged run in the practice matches.

In the past, Andy Atkinson has been hired by the board to prepare wickets for international matches but Shaharyar says this will not happen again. "Our groundsmen have enough capabilities to prepare wickets. They have learnt how to make good sporting wickets so I don't think we need pitch doctors from abroad."