Pakistan deny rift as England prepare

The Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Tauqir Zia, has played down rumours that senior members of the Pakistan team have objected to the role played by coach, Javed Miandad. He denied that seven senior players had withdrawn from the one-day tournament against England starting in a few days.

"Both sides (coach and team) tell me there is no dispute," he declared. "The players have never said that they wanted to get rid of Javed as coach. It is only two or three months since they asked the board to appoint him."

"There are some minor differences, but that is always the case in a family."

The England team are determined not to let talk of unrest in the Pakistan team disturb their own preparations.

Surrey's Graham Thorpe, likely to be a key player in England's middle-order this winter, was keen to focus on the challenge the team will face on the pitch. "That's for them to deal with," Thorpe said. "If they get distracted by all this then that would be great, but they are professional cricketers."

"We know what we're up against. They have an extremely talented bowling attack with great variation and their batsmen are very well proven as well."

Thorpe and Stewart should be able to provide some valuable insight into one of Pakistan's most potent threats - Saqlain Mushtaq, their former Surrey teammate.

"It's not like I've never seen him bowl before," explained Thorpe. "I've obviously stood there at slip and watched him bowl for Surrey and faced him the nets. I'm familiar with what he does, but facing him in a match is a totally different thing."

"It would be foolish to say that I can pick him; he's such a skilful bowler. Reading him is one thing, but you still have to play the ball."