After 7-Day Quarantine, Pakistan Set For First Practice Session

The Pakistan men's cricket team is looking forward to a good practice session on Monday after seven days of quarantine, and head coach Misbah-ul-Haq said on Sunday that the thought of seeing spectators at the ground would be "motivating" for his players during the limited-overs series against England.

Pakistan will play their opening ODI of the three-match series at Cardiff on July 8. This will be followed by a three-match T20I series beginning July 16 at Nottingham. "We came here last year too, but when there are spectators at the ground, the atmosphere becomes different altogether and I can feel that," said Misbah.

"I am not sure whether we can go out or meet friends here but we are being in the quarantine for the last seven days which were tough days but we will start practice tomorrow [Monday]," he said. "Last year when we came here, we were cut off from our families but the whole team became a family." Misbah said he was hopeful the seven days of practice in Derby would help players regain their form.

"England is always an important tour for us, especially with the T20 World Cup just a few months away. We know England is a force in white-ball format, so it is a big opportunity for us to play against them," he said. "We must understand that form is not permanent so we will try to utilise this isolation time to bring back their [players'] form."

Misbah added that he was confident of a good showing here as the team had a strong bench strength. "The good thing is that our bench strength is strong enough to counter any team in any conditions."