England v Pakistan: Ben Stokes says Yasir Shah is best leg-spinner since Shane Warne
Wednesday 20 July 2016 15:38, UK
England all-rounder Ben Stokes believes Pakistan's Yasir Shah is the best leg-spinner in world cricket since Shane Warne.
Pakistan won the first Investec Test at Lord's by 75 runs, with Yasir returning match figures of 10-141 to help his side take a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series and cement his place at the top of the ICC Test rankings.
England have the opportunity to level the series at Old Trafford, where the second Test gets under way on Friday, live on Sky Sports.
Stokes is back to full fitness and in the squad after playing in Durham's County Championship match against Lancashire and he knows he and his international colleagues must learn to play against Yasir if they are to keep the series alive.
It's a really big game. To keep the series alive and take confidence into the third Test, we have to win this game.
"Their seam bowlers have all got very good skills. Wahab [Riaz] looked hard work the other day when he got the ball to reverse and obviously Yasir Shah as well," said Stokes.
"He's the best leg spinner I reckon since Shane Warne, so they are a very good team.
"We will come to this Test match and know how he goes about bowling and we should be able to counter-act that. That's just another thing we may have to try and adapt to.
"It's a really big game. To keep the series alive and take confidence into the third Test, we have to win this game.
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"Losing it is something we can't afford to do but we have been playing really good Test cricket over the last two years, it's one defeat out of a lot of games we have won.
"We are not taking the defeat to heart, we have got to play this as a three-match series and hopefully we can win it."
Stokes proved his fitness at Southport in Durham's two-wicket victory over Lancashire, bowling 33.4 overs and picking up three wickets, in a match that also saw James Anderson feature for the home side ahead of his return to action in the second Test.
"That's the first game I have played doing both parts of my game. I had been playing as a batsman two weeks prior to the game just gone against Lancs," he added.
"It's something I did need, not only to get used to bowling in match situations because you can never replicate that bowling in the nets, but it's also a massive confidence boost as well.
"I thought I was going to be back earlier than I was, purely because of how well the rehab went the first three or four weeks.
"It was a bit of naivety I guess and maybe wanting to get back a bit too soon. But I am here now and back fully fit."
Watch day one of the second Investec Test between England and Pakistan on Friday. Coverage begins on Sky Sports 2 HD at 10am. Or watch from £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV.
