Alastair Cook & Trevor Bayliss confident of England's success against Pakistan
Alastair Cook and Trevor Bayliss believes England can beat Pakistan in the UAE, cricket.com.au reports. The duo acknowledged that the England side has a lot of inexperienced players but is confident of putting in good performances.
England, still buoyed by their Ashes victory over Australia, take on Pakistan in a three-match Test series starting October 13. Though the young English side has done well in home conditions, the pitches on offer at the UAE coupled with the hot weather conditions is expected to test them to the core.
Cook admitted that the series will be a challenging one but is confident that he can lead his side to victory over Pakistan.
"We have got a young and exciting side and we are very clear in our mind how hard it is going to be and what a challenge it is," said Cook after the team's first training session since arriving in the UAE. "It is warm, something we have to get accustomed to, so the first two training sessions tend to be hard work. That's part of the conditions we've got to face. Pakistan are probably a bit more used to it than we are, but we'll be fine. Just a bit of sweat, blood and tears for the first bit."
England suffered an embarrassing 3-0 whitewash the last time the two sides faced off in the UAE, back in 2012, but Cook, one of the five surviving members from that England squad, feels the scoreline was unjust to the visitors.
"Last series we probably should have won it. We had opportunities to win that series but Pakistan hung in and really won the critical moments,” Cook said. "That can be the way in subcontinent conditions or UAE conditions, the game can turn very quickly and you have to make sure you grab those opportunities."
Cook's views were echoed by the England coach Trevor Bayliss who believes the enthusiasm from the younger players in the squad will help the side put in a spirited performance.
“We have got some young inexperienced players, but they are players with a lot of ability and a lot of skill," said the former Australian assistant and Sri Lankan head coach. "I can see some useful enthusiasm and they are born with some skills so there is no reason why we can't play some good cricket and if we play some good cricket we will be hard to beat."