Daily Times

KARACHI: Former England skipper Michael Vaughan believes Pakistan cricket team is composed of players who take the fight to the opposition. “They are not used to English conditions or the Duke ball and to come here and draw a Test series against an England side that is so difficult to beat and to compete with them in English conditions was a tremendous effort,” Vaughan told Pakpassion.com in an interview. “But, with Pakistan cricket I believe they always have that inner fight and I really do think they are fighters and take the fight to the opposition.”

The former right-hand batsman thinks questioning the talent that emerges from Pakistan is wrong and the side displayed great commitment as a team against England. “Sometimes it doesn’t always come off but the talent has never been in doubt, but what I’ve seen in this series was discipline, commitment and togetherness,” he said. “I didn’t see any falling out between the players or management and they looked like a cohesive and collective unit and that’s down to Misbah getting them all together. When you get players with that amount of talent and you can drive them forward with a spirit and ethic of being together as one, then Pakistan are always going to be a major threat,” he added.

Pakistan toured England for the first time after the 2010 spot-fixing scandal and the show they put on forced Vaughan to admit that he would want them to come and play cricket in the country every year. “Pakistan have always been my most enjoyable tourists to commentate on because, for example this series has brought great skills and competitive cricket for the past seven to eight weeks which we don’t see enough of,” he said. “A few of the ODIs were one-sided but Pakistan finished the series strongly and they were fantastic in the Tests. I wish Pakistan could tour England every year as it’s always a very enjoyable and competitive series. I would certainly welcome them back on a regular basis.”

Memories of touring Pakistan: The 41-year-old has toured Pakistan during his playing years and says no international cricket in the country is a shame and he doesn’t see it returning for a few more years. “It was tough to go out there and play,” he said. “It’s a shame that there is no international cricket in Pakistan. Who knows what will happen in the future. Considering Pakistan doesn’t have cricket on its home soil it’s remarkable how competitive they have been. The pitches in UAE are similar to the likes of Lahore and Karachi, but still to have your home base counts for a lot and I think they are coping without it really well,” added Vaughan. He continued: “I hope in time international cricket eventually will be played once again in Pakistan but I would say with the current climate and all of the politics around the world it’s going to be very difficult in the next few years to do so.”