England up for Yasir Shah challenge, says Trevor Bayliss
Wednesday 21 October 2015 11:54, UK
England's players want to prove they have the measure of Pakistan's star spinner Yasir Shah, according to Trevor Bayliss.
Leg-spinner Yasir has 61 wickets in 10 Tests but missed the opening match against England after suffering a back spasm on the eve of the first day.
He is expected to be back in Pakistan's line-up when the second Test begins in Dubai on Thursday, and Bayliss says England's batsmen are looking forward to the challenge.
"The way he's bowled over the last couple of years, he is obviously one of their main players," said Bayliss. "The boys want to be the best team in the world. That means you've got to play the best players and he is the best player.
"I'm sure these guys would like to test themselves against any of the best players and come out on top.
"The 'beast' at this level, the egos are right up there - they want to play the best and show the best that they are better than them. I'm sure these guys will be looking forward to pitting themselves against the best.
"Win, lose or draw, they will want to show him they can play him as well as any of these other players."
The tourists' own leggie Adil Rashid bowled his side to the brink of an improbable win in Abu Dhabi, a second-innings five-for making up for the worst first-innings figures of any England debutant.
And Bayliss says the decision to blood Rashid had its roots in a meeting with England and Wales Cricket Board boss Andrew Strauss soon after the Australian's appointment as coach.
He said: "I spoke to Andrew pretty early on, and I think to a certain degree maybe one of the early things he wanted me to do was take them in a bit of a different direction to the last few years.
"That might be one of them, to get a leg-spinner in there or at least two spinners, so it gives the team different options rather than just four pace bowlers all the time and an orthodox bowler.
"Adil's definitely not a selection for just here. It will come down to whether he is bowling well enough to stay in the team, and it's a lot easier to keep him in the team if you've got Moeen Ali batting in the top six or seven and Ben Stokes in there as well."
Live Test Cricket
