Mohammad Amir, Yasir Shah rested for the second warm-up game against Sussex

Fast bowler Mohammad Amir and leg-spinner Yasir Shah have been rested for the second warm-up match against Sussex. Both of them were the standout performers for Pakistan in their first warm-up match against Somerset at Taunton. Rahat Ali will also not play the second practice game. Wahab Riaz, Imran Khan and Zulfiqar Babar swap places with them in the line-up as the team prepare for the first Test at Lord’s.

Pakistan Head Coach Mickey Arthur told to espncricinfo.com, “We had a pretty decent outing against Somerset. I would expect everyone shall maintain and improve on standards on display at Taunton in batting, bowling and fielding. We have to keep up with the benchmarks we have achieved so far, with the same intensity. Slacking off at any point would not be acceptable”.

While the bowling department has impressed, batting will be the team’s main concern. Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq and Sarfraz Ahmed, all have failed to perform in against Somerset and will look forward to getting runs in the second warm-up match.

The first tour game ended in a draw after Somerset came from behind and put up a sturdy batting performance in the second innings. Pakistan had set a tough target of 468 to chase riding on Azhar Ali’s brilliant 101 not out. In reply, the hosts were carried by veteran former England batsman Marcus Trescothick hit his 47th First class century to help his side draw the game.

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The Pakistan team will play four Tests, five One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and one Twenty20 International (T20I) with England.