Kaneria looks ahead to England challenge

Danish Kaneria is ready to take over as Pakistan's main strike bowler in the absence of Shoaib Akhtar who was dropped from the squad because of injury.

Kaneria took 11 wickets when the sides met in Pakistan late last year and though he was wicketless in Faisalabad, his spells in the second innings at Multan and Lahore were crucial in securing Pakistan wins.

In his exclusive diary for Bigstarcricket.com, Kaneria said, "I will try 101 percent to step into Shoaib's shoes and lead our attack. I do not mind the pressure of being our main strike bowler. I will work hard and try to take wickets for my country and make my captain proud. I think my two years playing for Essex will be a great help to me, knowing how to bowl on English wickets."

Kaneria can take heart from recent England displays which reveal that though they have improved against spin, they are still suspectible; Shane Warne in the last Ashes series, Kaneria himself in Pakistan, Anil Kumble in India and recently Muttiah Muralitharan have revealed this weakness.

"Warne took 40 wickets against England in the Ashes last year and Murali spun them out at Nottingham a few days ago so it shows me that their batsmen are not too comfortable against the top-class spinners," he explained. "Murali and Warne are easily the best two spinners that ever lived and I want to prove that I can also be as good as them even though I still have a lot to learn. They are much more experienced than I am, but I will try my best to make things difficult for England as they did."

But he acknowledged that despite their weakness and a long injury list, England at home will be a demanding prospect. "It will be a tough series for us because England are difficult opponents in their home conditions, but we have been playing very good cricket over the last couple of years and we are confident about what we can achieve. Each and every player wants to perform at the highest level and we are determined to win over there."

Kaneria is hoping to take his wife and daughter along with him to England. He said, "I'll be bringing my wife and daughter over for the first couple of weeks, so she will see me fulfil my lifelong dream of playing a Test match at Lords. I am just hoping it can coincide with a victory."