Team to be named after Pindi side match, says Bari
Pakistan, England to make early start to Tests
By M Bilal

ISLAMABAD—Chairman Selection Committee PCB Wasim Bari has said that Pakistan team will be announced after the conclusion of the side match in Rawalpindi for the first test match against England in Multan on Nov 12.
While talking to newsmen, Wasim Bari said that after formal consultations with Coach Bob Woolmer and Captain Inzammam ul Haq, Pakistan team for the first test match would be announced.
He further added that youth and experience both would be considered for the test matches.
Pakistan and England will make early starts to their first two Tests next month in Multan and Faisalabad to overcome weather-related problems.
The first two Tests will have a 9:30 a.m. (5:30 a.m. British time) start and end at 4.30 p.m., with a minimum of 83 overs to be bowled in the day. The third Test in Lahore will have a 10.00 a.m. start with 90 overs to be bowled, weather and light permitting.
England’s Test matches are scheduled from Nov 12, 20 and 29 at a time of the year when the winter season in central Punjab means sunset is early.
Customarily tests and first class matches are disrupted early in the day because of fog, and late due to bad light.
“We are keen to get in a minimum of 83 overs a day which is why we have opted for early starts in the first two games,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Director of Cricket Operations, Saleem Altaf, told reporters.
He said managing 83 overs could be a problem.
“We want result-oriented matches and it would be a shame if the tests are disrupted and overs lost due to weather conditions. But at this time of the year we can only hope for the best,” he said.
A test match against Zimbabwe in Faisalabad in mid-December 1998 was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to thick fog.
England’s tour opener, a three-day game against the PCB Patrons XI, will also start at 9:30 a.m.