Pakistan take on England with history on their side

Third Test begins today: Karachi, Dec 6: Pakistan were taking inspiration from history as they attempt to beat England in the third and final cricket Test to keep their proud unbeaten record here at the National Stadium intact.

Pakistan have won half of the 34 Tests they have played at the National Stadium while their last series defeat at home against England was 39 years ago when Ted Dexter's men won 1-0.

Besides, Pakistan have not lost to England in the last 18 years, including thrice on tours and twice at home.

"It is always such a great feeling to play at the National Stadium. Whatever may be the opposition and situation, one is always confident of positive results," Pakistan captain Moin Khan said of his home ground.

Six years ago, Pakistan had returned from the pit's edge against Australia here when Inzamam-ul- Haq and Mushtaq Ahmad added 57 runs for the unfinished last wicket to steer their team to victory in a nail-biting thriller.

"I don't want to make big claims but my confidence level in this game is very high. For the first time in the series 90 overs in a day will be bowled which naturally will be to our advantage.

"The wicket is not very different from the ones at Lahore and Faisalabad except that it is expected to have more bite, bounce and pace for our spinners," Moin said.

Pakistan are expected to make just one change in the team that almost cornered England in the dusty Faisalabad conditions but failed to take a 1-0 lead. Shahid Afridi is expected to pave the way for opener Imran Nazir and allow Salim Elahi to revert back to his pivotal No 3 position and Abdur Razzaq to his No 6 spot.

Both the batsmen posted their Test best scores in the previous match but Moin Khan said it was a makeshift arrangement. "They were promoted because Saeed Anwar was indisposed. Now since he is fit, all the players go back to their normal positions."

One change in the team means Waqar Younis will sit out despite the lacklustre form of Wasim Akram for whom this match is expected to serve as a make-orbreak affair. Waqar took 12 wickets against Sri Lanka 10 months ago to win the Man-of-the-Match award while Wasim has only two wickets at nearly 65 in this series.

"Wasim is a great bowler. He is trying hard but things are not going his way. Frankly speaking, he has not got much assistance from the wickets as well," Moin said while defending the left-armer who has 410 wickets from 100 Tests.

The pundits agree that the wickets in the first two Tests were very slow but at the same time contest Wasim's gameplan of concentrating on short-pitched stuff. "What was Wasim trying to prove with short-pitched stuff? A man of his experience should have realized that the best strategy on this wicket should have been to bowl upto the batsman. When he pitched upto the batsman, he got rid of Graham Thorpe (at Faisalabad) who was then batting on 79."

Wasim Akram will be playing his first Test at the National Stadium since he inflicted a first whitewash over the West Indies in 1997. He missed the Tests against Australia (in 1998) and against Sri Lanka (earlier this year) because of injuries.

While Pakistan will be hoping that Wasim Akram finds his lost magical form and touch, England were praying for the complete fitness of Alec Stewart who is nursing a tennis elbow.

"He is 99 percent fit. But we have given him a day to decide if he is fully fit for the Test," England skipper Nasser Hussain said.

Hussain added: "Alec obviously affects the balance of our side. So we have decided to keep our fingers crossed until the morning of the match before announcing our team."

Hussain's team arrived here as underdogs with questions being asked over their ability to play quality spinners. But in the two Tests, the Englishmen have not only played excellent cricket, they have gained enough confidence to take a shot at the Pakistanis.

"Whenever we leave England, we proceed with the confidence that we can win. On this tour, we have valued our wickets, innings and the games," Hussain said.

Hussain's other worries include the poor form of Graeme Hick and Ian Salisbury. Hick has got scores of 16, 14, 18 and 0 on this tour while Salisbury has picked just one wicket. The word in the English camp was that Salisbury might be replaced by Andrew Flintoff who blasted an 84 in the onedayer here on Oct 24 but has played just one ball in first-class cricket on this tour.

Hussain was sympathetic towards Hick: "To be honest, he has found himself in a couple of difficult situations. In the last game, he got out hooking on a pitch where ducking and swaying was difficult. In the second innings, he went in a tight situation and was bowled to a delivery that hardly left the surface."

Michael Vaughan was ruled out of the third Test with a calf injury when the England skipper said he was 90 percent fit when batting and 80 percent fit while fielding. "He would probably go through a country game but not a Test match."

While Moin Khan was confident over the outcome of the Test being played on Pakistan's happy hunting ground, Hussain also had reasons to fancy his chances in this game.

"We have broken some records in the summer. And the fact that we haven't won here for 40 odd years is an incentive for achieving something which other people haven't," Hussain, who led England to their first series win over the West Indies in 31 years months ago, said.

"We will remember the series against the West Indies as long as we live because we did something special. If we do it here again, it will indeed be incredibly special."

Pakistan: Moin Khan (captain), Saeed Anwar, Imran Nazir, Salim Elahi, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Abdur Razzaq, Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq, Arshad Khan and Danish Kaneria.

England: Nasser Hussain (captain), Marcus Trescothick, Michael Atherton, Graham Thorpe, Alec Stewart, Graeme Hick, Andrew Flintoff, Craig White, Ashley Giles, Andrew Caddick and Darren Gough.

Umpires: Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and Nazir Junior (Pakistan)

TV Umpire: Feroze Butt (Pakistan)

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka).