Pakistan go in to the First Test with question marks over the form of several key players and doubts as to whether they have had enough match practise.

Yousuf Youhana: Short of time in the middle Photo © AFP

With rain washing out the final day of the tourists game against Kent, Pakistan missed out on their final chance of cricket prior to the Test at Lord's starting on Thursday. Although the huge first wicket partnership of 307 between Saeed Anwar and Saleem Elahi in the first innings of the Kent game showed those two players to be in fine touch, it also prevented any of the other batsmen benefiting from time in the middle.

Yousuf Youhana has managed only nine runs in three innings, Inzamam-ul-Haq 31 from two and some of the others have barely had a bat. The seamers, too, have looked a little rusty in conceding centuries to English county players, Matthew Dowman and Robert Key.

Richard Pybus, the Pakistan coach played down the lack of preparation, pointing out that the early summer weather in England was such that time was bound to be lost in the warm-up games. He also stated his belief that the inherent class of the Pakistan players, and their Test experience, would stand them in good stead.

"At the start of the tour if you had said how many days would you bank on playing going into the first Test, we would have been quite pleased to have lost only one," Pybus remarked.

"These are experienced Test players and guys like 'Inzi' know when to turn it on. I don't think he's got any concerns himself so from the coaching side, if the player is confident, I am happy.

"Players of their quality are confident in themselves. I remember a situation a couple of years ago where Saeed Anwar hadn't played any cricket at all for four months, got called to the Sahara Trophy and took his bat and went out and scored 80-odd against the West Indies.

"If the guys are mentally tough enough they can adapt," he insisted.

Shoaib Akhtar is one man for whom the First Test has come too early, however. The fast bowler has been beset by injury problems, illness and doubts over his action and has only just returned to first-class cricket. His performance at Derby illustrated that there was still some work to do before he was match fit and it would be a major surprise if he were to make the Test starting XI.

Pybus was happy just to see the man reputed to be the fastest bowler in the world on the road to recovery.

"It's great just to see him running in, the gastroenteritis he had took a hell of a lot out of him," Pybus explained. "It's important for him that he's working hard, he's got a smile on his face again. He's had a long time out of cricket."

© CricInfo