Miandad and Gatting agree that problems are in the past

Pakistan coach Javed Miandad has spoken of the good spirit that exists between the England and Pakistan teams, as the countdown to the first Test on Wednesday continues.

"I think everything is fine. The relationship is very good between these two teams," Javed said. "As far as the Pakistan team is concerned, I think it is a very well behaved side.

"They have been playing cricket for many years and I have been with the team for almost nine or 10 months and we've not had any incidents so far. I'm hoping there will be nothing except cricket."

Miandad was also keen to defend the umpiring in Pakistan.

"The Test match (umpiring in Pakistan) is obviously like anywhere in the world. One is obviously an ICC umpire, the other one is a home umpire. The umpiring so far has been good except for one or two (decisions), but that happens in cricket.

"I think umpiring is competent whether from the ICC or Pakistan because we have the same umpires who are on the ICC panel and they are going to supervise the Test matches."

Meanwhile Mike Gatting, the former England captain at the centre of the Shakoor Rana affair, has told BBC Radio 5 Live that England must not dwell on any umpiring decisions that they do not agree with. He also suggested that the advent of one neutral umpire in each game would help avoid potential problems.

"Let's be fair," Gatting said, "there's going to be on neutral umpire at one end and another who will be a Pakistani umpire."

"What's going to have to happen, and it's one of the conditions the guys are going to have to get used to, is that the problem has possibly been halved."

"They (England) have got to go into every Test match in a positive frame of mind and forget what happened in the last one or whatever because if you dwell on it, it's one of those things which is used against you.

"That's why you have got to be quite strong. You have got to go out there positive all the time and take each match as it comes.

"I'm saying this with hindsight having done three or four tours. You've really got to try and start every match with a clean sheet. You have to go into it with a lot of positive thoughts because it's very easy, with things that happen out there, to go into it with negative thoughts. That really is one of the big hurdles you have to get over."