England v Pakistan, 1st Test, Lord’s, Thursday, 2pm (UAE time)
Alastair Cook’s first priority in the Lord’s Test will be either to deal with the reality of Mohammad Amir’s controversial return, or James Anderson’s absence.
Amir returns on Thursday for his first Test since the spot-fixing crisis of 2010, and his presence may dominate the start of England's four-match Investec series against Pakistan.
But it is a measure of Anderson’s importance to the hosts that rumblings over the reasons he is missing - and whether England could have taken a gamble on his recovery from a stress fracture of his shoulder blade - outdid the questions about Amir at captain Cook’s pre-match press conference.
According to several national newspaper reports, England's selectors were divided on whether Anderson should play. The Daily Mail reported selection talks became heated, with coach Trevor Bayliss pushing for his inclusion but James Whitaker, Angus Fraser and Mick Newell against him being involved. Cook, who is not a selector, also reportedly wanted Anderson in the squad.
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Without him, Cook must deploy debutant Jake Ball alongside the novice’s Nottinghamshire team-mate Stuart Broad - with Steven Finn and Chris Woakes completing the seam attack.
Cook confirmed the decision to hold Anderson back was a close call.
“Of course, there is always a temptation to take that gamble,” he said. “If (he had played, and) it had flared up, he would have looked quite silly.
“So I can understand the selectors not wanting to take a risk with it. That is their job. They pick the side.”
Anderson, and England’s pivotal all-rounder Ben Stokes for that matter, appeared in fine fettle in the Lord’s nets on Wednesday - but both must wait for their turn as they recover from injury.
Marshalling his bowling resources is one critical task - but depending on the outcome of the toss, combating Amir may be Cook’s initial match-defining priority.
He is adamant England’s batsmen must make sure they play the ball and not the bowler, his back story or the reaction of the crowd to the sight of Amir playing on the very ground where he transgressed and was subsequently punished with a jail term and five-year ban from all cricket.
“One thing we have spoken about - whether it’s Amir, (Wahab) Riaz, it’s the same red ball coming down at you,” said Cook.
“You can easily be distracted, certainly in a big series where it gets hyped up. But it takes you away from the most important thing - which is, you as a batter, that ball coming down.
“Are you prepared for it mentally? So you try and block out all that external stuff. We are very good when we do that.”
The key issue for Cook’s opposite number Misbah-ul-Haq is over the presence rather than absence of a brilliant bowler.
Misbah is confident Amir will react impressively to his high-profile return.
“I hope it’s a big opportunity for him, and that he comes on to the field and performs for Pakistan - to win (over) the people again,” Misbah said.
“At the moment there are no worries for us in terms of Mohammad Amir.”
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