Saud Shakeel was buoyed by Pakistan's win in Beckenham against a Professional County Club Select XI. In a three-day match, which serves as the only warm-up game before the start of the Test series in Leeds, Pakistan turned around a 67-run first-innings deficit, comfortably chasing 262 on the final day. They maintained a run rate of 4.61 during the chase, and got there with seven wickets to spare.
"It's very good preparation for the Test series," Shakeel said. "The pitch was challenging early on but it got better after a couple of days. In the end we have to prepare ourselves for the first Test, and that's what's good about performing out there."
Pakistan will be encouraged by the performance of Shakeel himself. As one of the senior players in the side, he comes back after a spell out of the Test squad with fitness concerns. He did not play either Test in the West Indies, and has seen his form fade after a bright start to Test cricket. His last ten innings have produced just 189 runs for an average of under 19.
Here, though, he produced a commanding display of confident batting on the third day, scoring an unbeaten hundred as Pakistan coasted to victory. It comes at a good time for Pakistan as they grapple with a loss of form for a number of middle-order batters, as well as some injury concerns. Abdullah Fazal was ruled out of the entire series with a back issue, while Shan Masood and Babar Azam's participation in the first Test has not been confirmed due to blows they took on the hand while batting.
However, Shakeel knows that Pakistan against England in Yorkshire poses a different challenge entirely.
"I'm not certain what conditions will be like in the first Test, but here it was slightly dry and the ball was turning as well. From what I know of Headingley from playing at Yorkshire, that pitch will have some bounce. I think it will be slightly different."
Shakeel played three matches for Yorkshire in 2023, though it wasn't an especially happy time - he scored 71 runs in five innings. It ties into a wider problem for the left-hand batter, a significant disparity in his numbers when batting at home as compared to more challenging away conditions. He averages over 50 at home (27 innings), 33.56 on foreign soil (17 innings) though this drops down sharply to around 21 outside Asia (10 innings).
He has never played a Test in England and Shakeel isn't worrying about past performances, or what the opposition might be planning.
"Every Test is challenging. Test cricket brings a new challenge every day. This is no different, and we're trying to make sure we give the best account of ourselves here.
"We're not thinking of the series in terms of Bazball. You should play according to the conditions and requirements. On this ground, the outfield is very fast and that might suit attacking shotplay. But we're not going to change our playing style just because of how the opposition are playing. We aim to play the way we think is the best way to play."
In any case, the hot weather in England this summer has dried conditions up, and that, according to Shakeel, might mean it won't produce the usual pitches and conditions everyone has come to expect from England.
"I think the way the summer is here in England, the pitches might become quite dry and bring spin into it. In the New Zealand series here, in the last Test the ball was spinning plenty."