England out to tame Pakistan pace

Pakistan levelled their two-match Test series against Australia with a three-wicket win at Headingley after bowling out Ricky Ponting et al for just 88 in the first innings last week.

Teenager Mohammad Aamer and fellow seamers Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul exploited helpful first-day conditions in Leeds – and with Danish Kaneria providing a high-class spin option, many believe Pakistan have all bases covered with the ball.

Left-arm swing bowler Aamer has already been favourably compared with Pakistani great Wasim Akram – including by the former captain himself – while Asif and Gul offer contrasting varieties of right-arm pace.

Collingwood is back on Test duty for the four-match npower series against Pakistan – starting at Trent Bridge tomorrow – after having to miss the early-season series against Bangladesh because of a shoulder injury.

He respects the Pakistan attack but baulks at the suggestion they may already be the best in the world, hinting they have perhaps been flattered by bowling most recently in weather conducive to seam and swing.

"I don't want to go overboard on 'these guys are the best thing since sliced bread' – or Wasim Akram, or this, that and the other," said the middle-order lynchpin.

"If we can get through those periods where it can be really tricky, I think we can get on top of them.

"I think they have got a lot of talent. But to say they're the No 1 bowling attack in the world I would say was over the mark. They have come up in conditions recently where it's done a fair bit."

Collingwood believes Pakistan still have a little way to go to earn sensible comparison with the best.

"They're a good outfit. Certainly, the bowling looks very strong," he added.

"They have had conditions where it has swung around quite a bit – and obviously, they come at different angles.

"There is a lot for us to think about there. But at the same time, we've got a lot of strengths like that ourselves with the way we swing the ball.

"I guess if they (Australia) got those same conditions on the first day (at Headingley) they would have caused a lot of problems.

"Pakistan have got skill, and we're going to have to be very careful. But I still think we can handle what they're going to throw at us."

Collingwood does not buy the idea either that Pakistan may start the forthcoming series with an advantage, having already been in Test action over the past two weeks – while England have rested following one-day internationals against Bangladesh and Australia.

He concedes only that an unexpected victory over a powerhouse team like Australia, under new captain Salman Butt, must have helped the tourists' morale.

"I guess they'll be confident from their last game. That's their only advantage," he said.

"We're very used, as cricketers now, to swapping from different forms of the game – so we should be ready for this first Test match.

"Their confidence is going to be sky-high after that game. But we're a confident team ourselves. They're a team who are up and down in their performances. When they're hot they're very, very hot – a hard team to beat, with a lot of skill.

"But when they're cold you can get on top of them."

Since England's triumph over Australia last summer, every Test assignment has been portrayed by some as a stepping stone to their bid to retain the Ashes down under next winter.

Collingwood and his team-mates will be trying to ensure one thing over the next five weeks – that there is nothing like a repeat of the controversy which rocked cricket in the final match of Pakistan's last tour of this country four years ago.

Collingwood himself, and Gul, were among those caught up in the drama when umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove penalised the tourists for ball-tampering at the Oval – kickstarting an alarming chain of events which included Pakistan forfeiting the match.

"That was something you don't want to be involved in," said the Durham batsman.

"Belly (Ian Bell) and I were waiting to go back out to bat after tea, and realised we weren't going to do that. It was a big disappointment for the game at the time, and something I think both teams will have learned from. I hope we don't get anything during this series that comes close to that."