Even in the shade of the stand at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium the temperature was a ferocious 38C and humid with it.
Had anyone had an egg it could have been fried on the concrete. Those watching as the England team went through their practice drills in the middle exposed to the full force of the sun were running through the list of similes to describe the conditions before agreeing it was simplest to settle for effing hot.
Practice lasted the best part of three hours before they called it a day with good batting time, one net against pace and the other against spin, and the opportunity for the bowlers to get the feel of the conditions and better understand the physical demands that will be made on them over the coming month, particularly the pace men. It is easy to forget the part that they will necessarily play, for while it was the bowling of the Pakistani spinners together with Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar that sticks in the memory as the overriding influence when England last toured here, Stuart Broad and James Anderson bowled superbly, the former taking 13 wickets at 20.46 and the latter nine at 27.66.
There is no Swann or Panesar now and the England spin attack is callow. Even more will be carried on the shoulders of Broad and Anderson. But they will need to be carefully managed in their workload. Spells will need to be brief and to the point, with nothing wasted. “I don’t think you quite know how long a spell will be until you get into it,” Anderson said. “Steve Finn bowled seven on the trot in Sharjah the other day but that is probably pushing it a bit. We are certainly aware we are going to have to be used in short spells. Last time we bowled short spells of four or five overs which meant you had to be on the money from ball one, with the emphasis on nailing it from the start. You can’t afford to ease yourself into a spell. But we have acclimatised well. ”
Although the fundamentals of bowling remain the same whatever the conditions, considerable adjustment has to be made in how to approach the job here, and Anderson and Broad have been passing on their experience to the rest of the pace bowling group. “I think you have got to assess things very quickly,” Anderson said. “So if the ball is not swinging you have to go to your plan B. There is a need to assess quickly if it is going to reverse swing, so have a look at that.
“Little changes in pace are crucial as well so it is just trying to find the right skills for the right situation, reading the game. The pace of the pitch is important too, whether to bring the slips out early and so on. It is just about being aware of what is happening. But the same basics apply. If you bowl top of off-stump all day then you are going to create chances. With regards to reverse swing, I can’t really remember from last time. There was a little bit in Dubai I think but not so much here in Abu Dhabi where the square is not that abrasive and the outfield is quite lush, so it could be difficult to get it going. If the spinners bowl a lot then it might make it a little easier.”
Pakistan will be without Azhar Ali, who averaged 50 against England in the last series here. The batsman is said to have suffered an infected foot during last month’s hajj to Saudi Arabia, played under some discomfort during the first two of three ODIs against Zimbabwe, but has not been able to play or train since, with the infection not yet completely cleared up. Azhar averages 44, with nine hundreds in his 44-match career, and it was his second-innings 157 in the final Test in Dubai, after Pakistan had been bowled out for 99, that helped seal the 3-0 whitewash against England.
“He played very well last time at No3,” Anderson said. “He was the guy to get out. Even with their experienced players after him I thought he was the key wicket for us so he’ll be a big miss.”
