Shouting from the Hop

The England cricket team flew off yesterday for their forthcoming test and ODI series in Pakistan, captained by Michael Vaughan. The three tests, and five one-day internationals will be a far cry from the most amazing series ever seen this summer, when England beat Australia to reclaim the ashes.

The following players have been selected for England's tour of Pakistan in October-December 2005:

Test squad

Michael Vaughan (Yorkshire, capt)
James Anderson (Lancashire)
Ian Bell (Warwickshire)
Paul Collingwood (Durham)
Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire)
Ashley Giles (Warwickshire)
Steve Harmison (Durham)
Matthew Hoggard (Yorkshire)
Geraint Jones (Kent)
Alex Loudon (Warwickshire)
Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire)
Liam Plunkett (Durham)
Matt Prior (Sussex)
Andrew Strauss (Middlesex)
Marcus Trescothick (Somerset)
Shaun Udal (Hampshire)

ODI squad

Michael Vaughan (Yorkshire, capt)
James Anderson (Lancashire)
Paul Collingwood (Durham)
Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire)
Ashley Giles (Warwickshire)
Stephen Harmison (Durham)
Geraint Jones (Kent)
Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire)
Liam Plunkett (Durham)
Matt Prior (Sussex)
Vikram Solanki (Worcestershire)
Andrew Strauss (Middlesex)
Marcus Trescothick (Somerset)

The pitches in Pakistan will be very different to those in England, but it is unknown at this stage if the Pakistanis will favour and prespare turning or seaming tracks.

England have tried to cover all bases by picking their usual test match seam attack (minus the injured Simon Jones) plus three spinners - the incumbent Ashley Giles, plus Alex Loudon, and Shaun Udal. I toured Australia with Udal in 1994/5 when he hardly got a game and spent just about as much time in the bar as I did; my, how times change.

The first test is played after a couple of warm up matches, so it will be interesting to see if the batters, including Kevin Pietersen, can get some runs and confidence ahead of the first test starting on 12 November.