LAHORE: While praising the performance of Pakistan team in the first Test against England, former Test leg-spinner Abdul Qadir has warned the visitors to avoid complacency as the home team could bounce back in the remaining three Tests.

Talking to Dawn, Qadir said the victory was a team effort and praised the performances of captain Misbah-ul-Haq, leg-spinner Yasir Shah, wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed, middle-order batsman Asad Shafiq and medium fast bowler Rahat Ali.

He said England committed a blunder by not selecting James Anderson, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan and Adil Rashid.

“I think England lost the first Test as they picked a weak side, considering Pakistan as an easy victim. The morale of England was high as they had beaten India and Sri Lanka in previous series. They ultimately had to pay the price in the shape of the defeat.”

The former leggie added, “I would like to warn Pakistan that England will not give more them time to relax in the remaining three Tests. Our players should play the next games with fresh minds without getting complacent.”

He was of the view that Misbah had silenced his critics with his brilliant knock in the first innings and he deserved lots of respect.

Regarding Yasir Shah, he said the leg-spinner had read the wicket well and bowled at the right line and length to put English batsmen in trouble.

“The English team always finds it difficult to face a leg-spinner and Yasir took most of the wickets by varying his pace without using a googly,” he said.

He said the 40-run stand between Sarfraz and Yasir for the seventh wicket in the second innings was also a turning point for Pakistan.

Qadir said Asad Shafiq had reminded him of Mushtaq Mohammad and Javed Miandad, who always used to stabilize the batting line-up whenever some quick wickets fell.

He was all praise for Rahat who broke the backbone of England by taking three top wickets, especially the one of captain Alastair Cook, and took pressure away from Mohammad Amir.

“Rahat could have taken five wickets had Misbah not introduced Amir back into the attack to grab the last two wickets of the second innings.

“I believe Misbah wanted to boost Amir’s morale by giving him a chance to take some wickets. Overall, it was a good strategy,” he said.

To a question, Qadir said head coach Mickey Arthur should work on the flaws of Pakistan players and his real test would be in the upcoming ODI and T20 series where Pakistan is struggling.

“In Test cricket, Pakistan is already enjoying the third ranking but the real problem will be in the limited-overs series where no Misbah and Younis will be playing,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2016