Pakistan bat against Kent in tour opener

CANTERBURY, United Kingdom: Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and elected to bat against Kent in his side’s tour opener at Canterbury on Saturday.

This match is Pakistan’s first of a tour of Britain and Ireland that features Ireland’s inaugural Test and a two-Test series against England.

Pakistan’s line-up featured several established internationals in wicket-keeper Captain Sarfraz batsmen Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali and Babar Azam, with left-arm quick Mohammad Amir leading the attack in this four-day fixture.

Overcast skies at the Spitfire St Lawrence ground offered the promise of swing movement for Kent’s swing bowlers.

Kent were captained by former England batsman Joe Denly, who played for the Karachi Kings in the recent edition of the Pakistan Super League Twenty20 event.

Kent, however, rested South Africa batsman Heino Kuhn and New Zealand paceman Matt Henry ahead of next week’s County Championship match away to Glamorgan.

After this match, the South Asian team will face Northamptonshire in another four-day fixture before travelling to Malahide, near Dublin, for a one-off Test against Ireland from May 11-15.

Pakistan then play a two-Test series against England at Lord’s (May 24-28) and Headingley (June 1-5).

Teams

Kent: Daniel Bell-Drummond, Sean Dickson, Zak Crawley, Joe Denly (capt), Alex Blake, Will Gidman, Adam Rouse (wkt), Calum Haggett, Harry Podmore, Ivan Thomas, Adam Riley

Pakistan: Azhar Ali, Sami Aslam, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Sarfraz Ahmed (capt/wkt), Mohammad Amir, Rahat Ali, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan

Umpires: Jeremy Lloyds, Steve O’Shaughnessy